Bučkovski warns: Outside the EU, North Macedonia will fall behind Kosovo too

Without EU integration, North Macedonia would become an isolated country in southeastern Europe, former Prime Minister Vllado Bučkovski said. Speaking on the “360 Degrees” program, he warned that under those circumstances, Kosovo would also overtake the country.

Assessing the government’s policies and relations with Bulgaria, Bučkovski described Minister Timčo Mucunski’s trip to Sofia as a positive step, despite what he said was a compelled visit. He also said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Rumen Radev should have met more often.

The former prime minister said he was unfamiliar with the tactics or strategy being pursued, but considered that they had produced no results. He noted that the government was entering its third year in office and that elections would be held next year. In this context, Bučkovski said it would take a miracle for the VMRO-DPMNE government to surprise people positively with a rational and pragmatic approach. His message was that without the EU, North Macedonia would be a dead end in southeastern Europe, not in the Western Balkans.

Regarding Bulgaria’s presidential election, won by Iliana Yotova, Bučkovski argued that North Macedonia would not have featured in the campaign at all if not for the provocation surrounding Iva Mihailova’s escape.