Skopje, 4 November 2025 (MIA) – At a closed session in the Parliament on Tuesday, EU Ambassador Michalis Rokas presented the latest EC Report on the country's progress towards EU membership.  

In addition to Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi, the session was also attended by representatives of parliamentary groups, including Oliver Spasovski and Jovan Mitrevski from SDSM, Marija Petrushevska from VMRO-DPMNE, Boban Karapejovski from ZNAM, and Bekim Qoku from the Vlen coalition. 

North Macedonia maintained its full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, sending a strong signal of its strategic choice of EU accession, states the Progress Report. However, the EC notes that it is important for the country to advance and finalise all the preparatory work related to the opening benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster, especially in the area of the rule of law, public administration reform and protection of minorities.

The Report also notes that the country must step up efforts in the fight against corruption and organized crime, with particular emphasis on the independence of the judiciary and the effective prosecution of high-level cases. A key observation is that decisive steps have not yet been taken to adopt the relevant constitutional changes, which the country committed to launch and achieve, with a view to including in the Constitution citizens who live within the state borders and who are part of other peoples, such as Bulgarians.

The European Commission notes that EU membership is a geostrategic investment in a strong, stable, secure and united Europe based on common democratic values, and the enlargement process remains strict, fair and merit-based.

Candidate countries, it adds, need to deliver demanding and lasting reforms, and foster cross-societal consensus. 

Photo: MIA