Kavadarci, 5 July 2026 (MIA) — Regarding the repayment of the 2020 Eurobond, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski announced Sunday that the EUR 700 million loan taken out by the previous government six years ago has been fully paid off.

Mickoski said the debt was settled ahead of schedule, which he said had saved the country several million euros in interest.

"Over the past two years, around 4.5 to 4.6 billion euros in debt and obligations have been either serviced or restructured," Mickoski told reporters after a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new facility at Jasmin Sports Center in Kavadarci. 

He added that more than three-quarters of this debt had been created during the seven-year rule of the SDSM and DUI coalition. 

“We are servicing these obligations and we are still securing funds for infrastructure projects,” he said. 

“We have also signed new collective agreements for education, healthcare and public administration workers,” he said, adding that by managing the budget responsibly his government was undoing the damaging consequences of an era "our citizens and our country should never have to go through again."

Comparing economic indicators, the prime minister said that under the SDSM-DUI government, GDP growth was under 1.8%. During the seven quarters under the VMRO-DPMNE-led coalition, he said, growth has nearly doubled, reaching 3.5%.

“We will keep working this way,” he said. “It will still take some time to feel the full impact, but the results of our work over these two years can already be seen everywhere.” mr/