Skopje, 22 February 2025 (MIA) — Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski addressed Friday in Washington the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and officials from across the United States and the world, and spoke about the historical, natural and cultural landmarks of Macedonia as well as the country's tradition and politics.

According to an official press release, PM Mickoski said Macedonians were traditional and loved their families. He noted that although the Macedonian community in the United States was small, it was important. He said Macedonian immigrants supported President Donald Trump in the November election, given they were conservatives, and he added he knew they would continue supporting Trump in the future as well.

Mickoski also told the CPAC that the government he leads was elected eight months ago by a vast majority of voters. He highlighted that two-thirds of the multiethnic country's population are Macedonians and one-third Albanians, Vlachs, Bosniaks, Serbs, Turks and others. Also, he said, the Macedonian diaspora was large, almost equalling the number of people living at home.

In addition, Mickoski pointed out that Macedonia was at the heart of the Balkans and part of the Western Balkans route, one of the main migratory paths into Europe. He said the country fought against illegal migration to protect Europe from irregular migrants, observing that this was also the main focus of the Trump administration at the moment.

The Macedonian prime minister also spoke about Macedonia's strategic partnership with the US, highlighting that Macedonia was one of the countries with the highest contribution to NATO per capita.

"We are above 2 percent. We are completely aligned and supporting President Trump's politics, and I think that 2 percent should be the floor, not the ceiling," PM Mickoski told the CPAC.

There was a round of applause at the interview host's remark that Mickoski had been the only one at the Munich Peace Conference to applaud US Vice President JD Vance's speech.

"Maybe some of the European politicians will be angry with me, but that was a very inspiring speech," he said, again drawing applause.

Mickoski said he had also heard criticism of Vance's remarks at the Munich Peace Conference, with attendees saying it had been "interference into the domestic issues of sovereign countries."

Then, the Macedonian PM spoke about the two strategic goals of the country ever since its independence from the former Yugoslav federation. "The first one was to become a fully fledged member of NATO and the second one was—and is—to become a fully fledged member of the European Union.

"We have become a member of NATO. But prior to becoming a member of NATO, we changed our flag, we changed our currency, we changed our Constitution, and we changed our name, because some of our neighbors had become a member of NATO prior to us and they used—or misused—the tool of veto to solve bilateral demands. If this is not interference in domestic issues, then what is it?”, Mickoski asked, pointing to double standards in politics.

Now, he said, the country was again obstructed from becoming an EU member because it was facing another hurdle of being put under pressure to change the Constitution yet again.

"If the Constitution is not an internal issue of a sovereign country, then I wonder what is?," he asked.

He said that critics of Vance's speech, which Mickoski reiterated that he had found very inspiring, "should point the finger at themselves and see what they are doing."

"This is not fair," he said, "for the small country which wants to become a part of the EU."

"EU values ​​​​are everything but not a bilateralization of the EU accession process," Mickoski told the influential gathering of conservatives. mr/