Skopje, 22 December 2025 (MIA) – Regarding our EU integration bid - firstly, there shouldn’t be any dilemma because it is in our interest to find a solution to this dispute with Bulgaria. I’m encouraged by the fact that many member countries and European institutions are becoming aware and, to an extent, have an understanding of our positions. Oftentimes I will be hearing the moment in relation to the predictability issue with a counter-argument that predictability isn’t something that can be acquired on the road to EU accession. I’ve been saying this to everyone that our case of European integration cannot be measured or compared with any other case in recent history, said Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski speaking at a news conference Monday.

He recalled that at a Paris debate several days ago, Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic mentioned the country’s process to EU accession. Mucunski reiterated that his country in the past 30 years had changed the Constitution several times as well as the name, adding: “Not to mention the array of national concessions that had been made.

“Now, it seems the easiest move is the government to pass the constitutional changes because we have the majority in Parliament. What if the government did it and we faced the same situation in six months’ time. Is it a responsible or European approach? We say there has to be predictability framework, to receive some kind of form of institutional guarantees that our identity, language and national history won’t become the subject of negotiations. We want to know that the other side abides by the international conventions and respect the Macedonians living in its territory. Are these positions that PM Mickoski talked about at the Congress clearly conveyed in Brussels – have no dilemma. They have been conveyed a long time ago,” Mucunski told a joint news conference in Skopje alongside Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Elisa Spiropali.

As to whether there is encouragement from certain member countries and from European institutions as well as willingness for the establishment of dialogue, Mucunski said there is.

“We stand ready to sit down and talk tomorrow if needs be to unblock this unprincipled blockade affecting our country. But if someone expects this government to make an exception without any certainty for the future and the European path, which will, of course, depend on us and the reforms we implement – the public is well aware that we are not prepared for that because we don’t plan on making a deadlock as the former administration did,” the top diplomat stated.

The complexity, he added, lies in the political state in Bulgaria and we are very careful as to what we say publicly.

“Without predictability in our European path, when bilateral issues, identity and historical issues are involved, we are not prepared to do what is expected of us,” Minister Mucunski stressed.

The Macedonian citizens, he said, should be confident that they have a government that thinks about the European path, especially in terms of internal reforms, which is evident from the law being in parliamentary procedure.

“We won’t allow to find ourselves in the same cycle of blockades imposed by our predecessors because it was easiest for them to accept whatever was offered by the other side. If there is will by all parties, there isn’t a challenge that cannot be solved,” stated FM Mucunski.

Photo and video: MIA