Skopje, 17 October 2025 (MIA) – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told an interview on Friday evening that reforms in the judiciary are crucial for restoring public trust and for the rule of law. The PM said a few individuals are compromising the entire system, and have already been detected.

“We have a few people who are contaminating everyone else, and that is the biggest issue in the judiciary. We have detected these few people, and they cannot be a part of our legal system because they have missed their chance to show they are objective and not party servants,” Mickoski told Sitel TV.

He said it is essential for the citizens to understand the way judges and prosecutors are elected, since that, he said, is crucial for grasping the problems in the system.

“The citizens must understand how the election of judges and prosecutors works. It involves the Judicial Council and the Council of Public Prosecutors, while recruitment is handled by the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors. There is an entire generation, the ninth generation, for which even the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption has issued an opinion noting they graduated unlawfully. We need to start from there – what do we do with that decision? If we annul it, we must immediately fill that gap with two new generations of judges and prosecutors,” said Mickoski, adding that the reform process must begin immediately.

The Prime Minister stressed the reforms will be implemented transparently and in line with the recommendations of the EU peer review mission.

Regarding the economy, Mickoski dismissed claims made by SDSM leader Venko Filipche about the budget deficit, calling them inaccurate and politically motivated.

“I heard that and couldn’t believe it… he should stick to what he’s good at, and that’s neurosurgery. Yesterday he mentioned that the budget deficit would be EUR 1.4 billion. But as of October 15, it stands at EUR 560 million. That’s 40 percent of what he claims,” Mickoski said.

The PM added that inflation has significantly decreased from 14.2 percent in 2022 to below 4 percent in 2025, saying he is confident it will drop below 3 percent by the end of the year.

MIA file photo