Skopje, 6 September 2025 (MIA)

Elizabeta VELJANOVSKA NAJDESKA

In an interview for MIA, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski confirmed that new cases related to crime and corruption of high officials will be opened in the future, while also noting that the Public Prosecutor's Office and the courts are not acting equally toward everyone against whom a charge has been filed, and that the prosecution has not made any progress in some of the cases.

"Absolutely yes. Over the past years, as part of the new Government, the Ministry of Interior has shown that things can be done differently, that it is possible to file criminal charges even against high-ranking officials from any political party, regardless of whether they come from one, another, or a third party, I wouldn’t want to specify. It has shown that proceedings can be initiated, that it is possible to speak publicly and confirm crimes with evidence and facts," Toshkovski said in the interview.

The Minister pointed to the "Additive" case as an example, for which the Public Prosecutor's Office has filed an indictment, however, he stressed that the Public Prosecutor's Office and the courts are not acting equally toward everyone facing a charge.

"However, despite the fact that we have filed a large number of criminal charges, for example against former ministers, directors of institutions, and a former prime minister, we see that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the courts do not act equally toward everyone against whom a criminal charge has been filed. Time will tell whether, in the coming period, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the courts will find the courage to act within their legally granted powers, so that we can deliver procedural justice, which is essential for us as an institution, but also substantive justice, which should detect all those who acted unlawfully in the past and enable the recovery of funds that were illegally spent by certain individuals, regardless of whether those individuals were ministers, directors, or any other type of official," Toshkovski said.

According to the Minister, in some cases - like the one regarding the "Pulse" nightclub fire in Kochani, in which 62 young people lost their lives - the Prosecutor's Office has shown courage and decisiveness to provide a timely response and immediately implement the necessary actions. However, he noted that there has been no progress for some of the criminal charges filed with a lot of evidence by the Interior Ministry.

"I would publicly take this opportunity to ask the Public Prosecutor’s Office: how far along is the case concerning the abuse of police authority within the Ministry of Interior, related to the illegal issuance of weapons. We filed a solid criminal charge, based on the information I have, backed by a large volume of evidence against several police officers who acted unlawfully during the past period. Yet, unfortunately, to this day, I cannot notice any movement on that particular case. We have not been informed that the criminal charge was dismissed, nor have we been notified that it was seriously reviewed and processed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office with an appropriate act within their jurisdiction," Toshkovski said.

Speaking about the nightclub fire in Kochani, Toshkovski stressed that the MoI acted on every order issued by the Prosecutor's Office.

"What remains is, as far as I know, for the prosecution to file the appropriate charges related to this case and for the court to initiate the proceedings it needs to initiate on the basis of the gathered and presented evidence," Toshkovski said.

In terms of the systemic shortcomings identified in the case, the INterior Minister said society and the institutions will need a lot of time to make a drastic step forward from what was to what should be. 

"In six months, a year, we cannot fix the country's problems with a golden wand. They have been accumulating for many years," stressed Toshkovski, noting that certain legal amendments were made immediately after the nightclub fire to prevent similar accidents in the future.

Below is the interview in full:

Before you became Interior Minister, you were a lawyer, your life was different. Do you regret becoming a minister? 

It is undeniably much more difficult for me when it comes to family obligations, work responsibilities, and my personal engagement, as well as the engagement of everyone around me. But the fact that this job position allows you to work in the interest of your citizens, in the interest of your country, to truly help within many processes, that, too, is undeniable. So, if I were to weigh these two things, whether I regret it, so far, no, because I genuinely expect that from the work of my team, from the work of the Government, from the overall engagement we’ve had so far, I truly expect very good results, simply improvements in the lives of Macedonian citizens that are visible, and will become even more visible in the coming year, with all the changes we’ve made, with all the steps we’ve taken.

Our work, I can freely say, is especially visible in the area of administrative services. We’ve created a dignified procedure for citizens to exercise their rights, such as obtaining personal documents, driver’s licenses, passports, ID cards. I believe that what we inherited as chaos and crowds, breaking doors, lack of access to institutions, absence of documents, etc., the Macedonian people know very well that the overall chaotic situation we had in the country regarding the issuance of personal documents is no longer present. Now, the process of exercising this right is much more dignified for Macedonian citizens. And in the future, we have a clear idea not to stop here, but to take another step forward: the passport booklets that are currently produced outside of Macedonia should be produced within Macedonia. That would be, let’s say, a huge leap forward. In short, on the contrary, I’m grateful to have this opportunity to make a difference specifically in Macedonia, based on which Macedonian citizens will be able to live better lives. 

When VMRO-DPMNE, the party you are a member of, was in the opposition but also after, it constantly spoke of organized crime and corruption by the previous government and officials that were in power in our country. Some of those crimes have been cleared up, but the finger is still being pointed to the Prosecutor’s Office, as well as at the Ministry of Interior. Could we expect new cases related to crime and corruption to be cleared up or uncovered in the coming period? 

Absolutely yes. Over the past years, as part of the new Government, the Ministry of Interior  has shown that things can be done differently, that it is possible to file criminal charges even against high-ranking officials from any political party, regardless of whether they come from one, another, or a third party, I wouldn’t want to specify. It has shown that proceedings can be initiated, that it is possible to speak publicly and confirm crimes with evidence and facts. When it comes to cases involving enormous sums, I would single out the case “Additive”, which, fortunately, was supported by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and they prosecuted it and filed indictments. However, despite the fact that we have filed a large number of criminal charges, for example against former ministers, directors of institutions, and a former prime minister, we see that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the courts do not act equally toward everyone against whom a criminal charge has been filed. Time will tell whether, in the coming period, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the courts will find the courage to act within their legally granted powers, so that we can deliver procedural justice, which is essential for us as an institution, but also substantive justice, which should detect all those who acted unlawfully in the past and enable the recovery of funds that were illegally spent by certain individuals, regardless of whether those individuals were ministers, directors, or any other type of official. I believe that now the next move, in terms of the cases, lies with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and for the cases we have opened and processed in the past period, for which the Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed indictments, it is now up to the competent authority that processes those proceedings, and that is the courts. 

Do you believe that the Prosecutor’s Office is processing the cases you deliver to them in a timely manner, within a realistic timeframe? 

I must emphasize that in some cases, the Prosecutor’s Office truly showed courage and determination by responding promptly and immediately carrying out the procedural actions that needed to be taken. I would highlight, for example, the case in Kochani that we had. However, in other cases where the Ministry of Interior filed criminal charges supported by a substantial amount of evidence, well-founded charges, more than a year has passed, and for some of those cases, we still see no information or progress from the Prosecutor’s Office. This really concerns me, especially when it comes to cases involving high-ranking officials from the past period. I would publicly take this opportunity to ask the Public Prosecutor’s Office: how far along is the case concerning the abuse of police authority within the Ministry of Interior, related to the illegal issuance of weapons. We filed a solid criminal charge, based on the information I have, backed by a large volume of evidence against several police officers who acted unlawfully during the past period. Yet, unfortunately, to this day, I cannot notice any movement on that particular case. We have not been informed that the criminal charge was dismissed, nor have we been notified that it was seriously reviewed and processed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office with an appropriate act within their jurisdiction. 

Wildfires continue to be relevant. How many people have been detained under suspicion of having started fires in the past period? 

In just the past four months, the Ministry of Interior has detained over 40 individuals, with around 30 of them facing criminal charges. It’s a fact that the majority of fires, aside from those caused by natural disasters, are the result of human activity. Moving forward, we must consider tightening regulations related to fires and act urgently against all those pyromaniacs who act recklessly toward the environment and toward all of us living in our beautiful Macedonia.

The figure of 40 detentions and over 30 processed culprits in relation to the fire is really not a small figure. However, I believe we must take a more preventative approach in the future by strengthening sanctions in this area and prioritizing the processing of such crimes, so we can act preventatively against these arsonists.

The performance this year by the Protection and Rescue Directorate and all territorial firefighting units is far different from the one I saw last year. This year we truly are far more prepared. I would like to extend deep gratitude to all the socially responsible companies that helped repurpose around 40 combat vehicles into firefighting vehicles, leading to the creation of the Macedonian Intervention Firefighting Unit, which has proved to be highly functional and useful in the field. I also want to thank all the firefighters, staff at the Ministry of Interior and the Defense Ministry, the soldiers who alongside the police officers, firefighters and of course the local population across Macedonia bravely fought the fires. But this year, unlike previous years, we had the resources to respond effectively. And I can only commend their self-sacrifice and courage.

We have a lot of work to do in this field in the future. As a Government, we are committed and focused on establishing a more systematic approach. As the Prime Minister has previously mentioned, we are working on fusing the two laws that govern the Crisis Management Center and the Protection and Rescue Directorate. From both an efficiency and effectiveness standpoint, it is necessary to merge these institutions into one, so we can strengthen resources and have a centralized body that would be able to actively fight all types of fires, especially forest fires like the ones we are having right now. Unfortunately, nature is the way it is. Year after year, temperatures are rising. This year, conditions were worse in terms of dryness compared to last year. Experts predict that things will continue to deteriorate from year to year, with even higher temperatures expected. So, we cannot relax just because summer has passed. On the contrary, we must focus right now, so we can be even better prepared and have an even greater capacity so we can tackle all challenges even better in the summer of 2026. 

You mentioned the Kochani tragedy. It is one of the greatest tragedies in Macedonia, if not the greatest. It happened during your term in office. Do you think you did all you could have done to solve this case?  

Absolutely the most terrible tragedy that has ever happened in Macedonia. The Ministry of Interior did literally everything that could have been done, directly and indirectly, regarding this tragedy. We also helped transport the injured. The Ministry of Interior, indeed, showed its strong capacity in accompanying every emergency vehicle between Kochani and Skopje as well as between Skopje and Sofija or Thessaloniki. Wherever the injured needed to be transported, the Ministry of Interior and medical vehicles helped. We truly showed that, despite what had happened, we had the capacity to respond to it.  

Regarding the competences of the Ministry of Interior in finding out the reasons for what happened and starting the appropriate criminal procedures against anyone involved in any way, be it directly or indirectly, with the aforementioned terrible tragedy, we acted in complete coordination following orders issued by the Public Prosecution. We did everything required of us to solve the case. What remains is, as far as I know, for the prosecution to file the appropriate charges related to this case and for the court to initiate the proceedings it needs to initiate on the basis of the gathered and presented evidence.  

The tragedy happened over five months ago. You went to Kochani to meet with the parents of the children who had been killed. We discovered many systemic errors. Have we, as a system, learned the lesson of this tragedy?  

We have to learn the lesson of this tragedy, if you ask me. But yes, true, I received a call about the aforementioned tragedy and I was already in Kochani at dawn. Indeed, this tragedy broke literally every single Macedonian citizen. And not only Macedonian citizens but the entire Balkans, entire Europe, the whole world was broken by this tragedy.  

It is unacceptable not to learn the lessons we need to learn, given the fact that what happened was a consequence of numerous violations of the law ever since 2012 until the moment of the tragedy. I would not like to go into detail on everything directly related to the accident again, but the fact is we cannot dismiss that from 2012 to 2025 there was an enormous number of violations and systemic weaknesses and omissions, to no appropriate response from the institutions. We have to learn this lesson.  

In this context, the first thing we did was ban the use of pyrotechnics in closed spaces by amending the law. Now any sort of pyrotechnics are banned in closed spaces. This was supported by all lawmakers in the Macedonian Parliament. So not only that part of the legislation but we also need to literally think about changing every single one of us as part of our daily actions related to any sphere of competence. Be it the Ministry of Interior approving a given number of parking spaces this type of nightclub should have, be it the inspectorate, be it the Ministry of Economy, be it the owners of the establishments that have to fulfill all those legalities defined in the law. The rules of the game do not exist for the sake of existing. They exist to prevent God-forbid-situations.  

So every one of us involved in any process, we have to change our worldview of things. We now see that such tragedies can happen not only in Hungary or in Brazil but also in our country. We have to start from ourselves, as part of our daily work, each in our own field, if we want to change things. Neither the Ministry of Interior nor the Public Prosecutor's Office nor the court nor any other institution on its own can make a step forward in society.  

At the time, you said everything was rotten. How do you see things from today's perspective? You said a lot of things related to Kochani, systemic things. You spoke about legal amendments introduced by the current government to change things. 

Honestly, it will take us a long time, both as a society and as institutions, to make a drastic step forward from what was to what should be. In six months, a year, we cannot fix the country's problems with a golden wand. They have been accumulating for many years. If any of the others over these past 30 or so years had worked like we have been working this year, I guarantee you we would not have fallen this low. Unfortunately, the situation is what it is.  

At a meeting earlier, we discussed vehicle registers. Macedonia still does not have a vehicle register. The implementation procedure for a vehicle register began in 2008. Now we are near the end of 2025. We still don't have a vehicle register. We are not dodging any responsibility and we are not dodging the questions people ask. But the fact is that it takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication and willpower to get to where we strive to get.  

Previously, we only heard platitudes like EU values we should get closer to by changing our Constitution, etc. We can get closer to the EU values we all want through willpower, a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of dedication. Only in this way can we really have those EU values we only hear about.  

Every day the Ministry of Interior releases reports on people caught with "a white powdery substance" and marijuana. What is the situation with drugs in the country? The Ministry of Interior has had several drug busts.  

In 2025 alone we exposed around three criminal groups, which operate not only inside Macedonia, but also outside Macedonia. Some 25 people had criminal charges raised against them. So if we take only cocaine as a narcotic substance during this year, year and a half that I have been minister for, the amount of cocaine we have seized is almost equal to the amount in the previous 6-7 years in total. So, we have seized some nine kilograms of cocaine over this year and a half. That's how much the previous minister had over his entire mandate, more or less. What I'm saying is that the results are obvious.  

Is this enough? No. We really need to work on this and be really dedicated, especially in the fight against illegal trafficking of this sort of psychotropic substances. And thinking forward, we are discussing, debating, talking with professors and experts in the field about some legal changes Hungary has already implemented as regards how the state should treat drug users. That is, if they cooperate with the state and are willing to help uncover a network of perpetrators, they would be treated as consumers, as is the current law. They would be treated as offenders. But if they don't cooperate with the state and don't want to help investigators and prosecutors during the law enforcement procedure, they would be treated as perpetrators of a crime. Still, this is a really sensitive issue and we are discussing it with professors, with experts in the field. But we are thinking about being a little more rigorous regarding the laws we would offer going forward in the fight against illegal drug trafficking. 

I’d like to talk about traffic since there is a lot of criticism, road accidents, etc. People are commenting a lot of things on social media. The Ministry of Interior is reacting. You’ve announced the Safe City project, expected to launch on January 1. Can you give us more details about this project?

Trust me, had the Safe City project been implemented by now by my predecessors, I guarantee you we wouldn’t have been in this mess we’re in. The project was started a long time ago. It is what it is. It’s up to us now to implement it. Why? Because when we have a figure of 142 fatalities in road accidents in Macedonia in 2024, trust me, it is devastating to have this as a fact while serving as an interior minister. There have been attempts by, I’d say, people who don’t wish Macedonia well, to impose certain theses that aren’t in the interest of Safe City’s implementation and that aren’t in the interest of creating a traffic safety culture.  

It is devastating Macedonia to be recording figures of 75-80 fatalities per million residents in a one-year period, whereas Scandinavian countries to have some 30 fatalities. Following this logic, we have 40-50 deaths more per million residents than in Scandinavian countries. Thus, it is devastating to see attempts to manipulate the public that the state in fact wants to collect more money for the budget by fining for traffic violations. The state doesn’t aim to increase the budget through traffic fines by implementing the Safe City project. The state aims to save at least one human life compared to what we have had as fatalities because traffic rules weren’t respected. Trust me, all of these 142 fatalities, all of them, were the result of traffic rules not being respected.  

Should more laws be amended before the Safe City project starts implementation on January 1? 

Yes, it is a set of laws, six laws I believe, as well as rulebooks that also need amending. The Law on Road Safety is in parliamentary procedure as well as the Law on Violations, which is directly related to the implementation of the Safe City project. Also, the Criminal Code, the Law on Execution of Sanctions, the Law on Vehicles need to be amended. Thus, we have a set of laws that require amendments.  

The Ministry of Interior aims to launch the project on January 1, 2026 after activities on the ground are completed and after laws are changed. Why January 1, 2026? As of January 1, 2025, after amending the rulebook on the registration of motor vehicles, a process started to collect data related to the owners of the vehicles.  

Legally, we can start implementing as of January 1, 2026. The citizens have been informed that the system involves communication with them through their mobile phones by being sent an SMS on the phone they had provided to the Ministry of Interior. I hope that by December 1, 2025 at the latest, we’ll introduce the Safe City system. We’d use some 30 days as a trial period allowing the amendments to all the laws enter into force.  

Another traffic problem is the reckless driving of electrical scooters. Is there room for the Ministry of Interior to take measures?

Right before coming here, I was almost run over by one. I believe two minors were driving one scooter. It’s not allowed according to the current legislation for two people to be on a scooter. Neither of them had helmets on. There is regulation in place on driving of scooters, which unfortunately isn’t producing results. In terms of changing the legislation, we need in-depth analyses. Changes are planned to align with the regulations applied in the EU.  

But we need to dive deeper in the matter. There is room to consult with experts on the matter to see how it is implemented in some EU countries. We need to make the rules stricter allowing all of our citizens, including those driving the scooters, to feel safe in the Macedonian streets. According to information I have from doctors, there are at least 5-6 surgeries a day of bones broken after a fall from a scooter. Most of them are minors. It is a very serious matter that we need to focus on in the future and to implement and improve legislation. Usually, we’re good at implementing…  

Public awareness should be also raised; minors shouldn’t be allowed to drive electric scooters.  

We have to understand we are all part of this society. Each and every one of us. Despite having rights, we all have responsibilities. A person under 14 is prohibited from driving a scooter. After parents buy, let’s say, a 11-year-old child a scooter without also buying them a helmet, then they blame God. We, all of us, have to fully focus on prevention. For us, for our children and for the society in general. 

Regarding the elderly, they are facing phone scams. The MoI has launched a campaign “Beware of phone scams”. Do you think the campaign will have some impact? 

Yes, absolutely. Awareness is raised to another level when the Ministry of Interior has active campaigns in any field. In the specific case, it includes information for the elderly and the younger generations that such modus operandi exists in Macedonia, not only in our neighborhood. The perpetrators of these crimes are most often not Macedonian nationals and do not speak clearly the Macedonian language when calling. According to the information we have, they most often call random numbers, but when they sense an elderly person is on the other side, then they try to scam them by saying that a person close to them did a certain crime, with a traffic accident being the most common event used. These scammers claim that a third person was injured or passed away in such an accident, whereas their loved one had also been severely injured and cannot communicate with their parents or grandparents, adding that if they transfer a certain amount of money, he/she would face no consequences. Therefore, the outcome of this campaign is that our elderly get the information through the media and are more aware of what to expect. 

Local elections are due on October 19. The Ministry of Interior plays one of the key roles in the organization of every election cycle by securing the sites, the voting materials, the Voter Register. Is the MoI preparing for the local elections? 

An operational HQ for the 2025 local elections has been set up and preparations are ongoing, in accordance with the standard procedures undertaken by the Ministry of Interior. We have met with the State Election Commission members, myself included, discussing all steps that have to be undertaken by the MoI and SEC. We are working together as partners, on issues in our jurisdiction related to the administering of elections, in a timely fashion. I expect peaceful and properly administered elections, both by the SEC and the MoI. 

Are there any indications about election-related scenarios? 

None that the Ministry of Interior is aware of. 

You used to promote the idea of having police officers patrolling neighborhoods, a local cop of sorts. Citizens welcomed the idea because officers are hard to find in the neighborhoods. 

I must say this is not my idea, I have heard it from a number of police officers and citizens. For the sake of the truth, former ministers had the same idea but, unfortunately, they failed to properly implement it. A key aspect to enable this was a change in the laws on internal affairs and police, which we did. The next step is a change of the job systematization system. The law will enter into force in about eight months from now, and we can implement this through proper organization and mobility of police officers. These police officers will patrol a certain area but also know the citizens living in that neighborhood, officer who are visible but also trusted by citizens. This is something that had existed in the past and proved to be a positive model. We are sharing experiences with our EU counterparts, for example Slovenia, a country of similar size and population with Macedonia. Both countries come from the same system in the past, and while they managed to improve by applying the European practices, we are lagging far behind. Therefore, I use this opportunity to thank the Slovenian Minister of Interior and the experts and professionals that Slovenia is providing as support throughout this period so that we can implement the reforms in the proper way.