Skopje, 19 August 2026 (MIA) - There is no doubt that talks are underway and will continue towards a solution. The question is what is being discussed and what the red line is in those talks. That is our task before the citizens and as a Government, to hold talks and there is no secret here, talks will continue, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said commenting on whether talks are underway to find a solution to move the EU process forward.

The country's position, he added, was a losing position and a position of betrayal based on what the previous government had signed.

"Now we are starting from there and trying inch by inch to restore something that can be restored. So talks will continue," Mickoski said in an interview with Sitel TV on Wednesday.

On whether there is a mediator or facilitator in such talks, Mickoski said talks are mainly held with state officials - heads of state and government, as well as with top EU representatives. He also added that direct contact has been established between his cabinet and the cabinets of Merz and Macron.

"And it is no secret that this was also discussed during President Costa's visit and the Enlargement Commissioner's visit, the central topic of our bilateral meetings was precisely that, so there are no secrets here or anything under the radar. That is the essence of this Government, in addition to resolving problems and challenges at home, to manage to resolve international, i.e. external challenges that are much greater, given the position where we started, because the position that the previous Government left behind was 100:0 lost," said Mickoski. 

Asked whether there has been any change in the intensity of the talks and whether there is now more activity in terms of reaching some kind of solution, the PM pointed out that the current situation in the world is quite complex and, according to him, it is unclear whether the appetite for enlargement will still be with major European leaders.

As regards whether the country can be said to be on the same EU integration path with neighbors Montenegro and Albania, Mickoski said we should respond to the challenges by strengthening the delivery of reforms from the Reform Agenda.

"I will make a comment here. I remember 2018, when the change of the constitutional name was being pushed for and many of the European diplomats - at the time we were a political party in opposition - were convincing us that the window was open, that now was the time, that we were frontrunners in the region and that if we accept this pledge, we would immediately become a NATO member state and since we are the ones who are the frontrunners, we would be put on a fast track, within four to five years we would complete the negotiations and become an EU member state. Those four to five years passed two to three years ago. We are in the same place where we were 21 years ago, i.e. with candidate country status," Mickoski said. 

In that context, he called for caution noting that his position does not allow for improvisation and hasty decisions, but responding to the challenges by stepping up delivery of reforms.

"Therefore, we must establish ourselves as a serious and committed reform-driven state, and we need to respond fiercely and aggressively with the delivery of those reforms, which is what we are actually doing," Mickoski stressed. 

Photo: MIA archive