Mickoski after meeting with Kos: North Macedonia will continue reforms, strengthening the economy, institutions and the rule of law

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Hristijan Mickoski, said during a meeting with European Commission President Marta Kos that today’s visit represents an opportunity for an open, sincere and substantive discussion on the country’s European perspective, the reforms being implemented and the need for the enlargement process to remain tied to the principles on which the European Union was built: trust, predictability, equal treatment and respect for the dignity of every candidate state, the government’s press service said.

According to him, over the past two years the government has shown that reforms are not just a commitment on paper, but concrete work measured through results, institutional changes, economic indicators and the creation of better living conditions for citizens.

Mickoski stressed that the goal is to build functional institutions, strengthen the rule of law, create a more efficient public administration, develop a competitive economy and build an environment that will increase the confidence of citizens and investors.

He underlined that these steps are not being taken because someone is demanding them from the country, but because there is a conviction that this is the only right path for the homeland’s development and for building sustainable institutions capable of responding to the needs of today’s generations and those to come.

In this process, he added, the support coming from the European Commission is appreciated, as well as financial and expert assistance, which help reforms to be implemented more quickly and with higher quality.

On the other hand, he said it is expected that European integration will continue to be a process based on criteria, values and the clear fulfillment of reform commitments, and not a process burdened by bilateral issues that create uncertainty among the country’s citizens.

Mickoski also said that for years citizens have shown a clear commitment to the European idea. During this time, according to him, difficult decisions have been made, serious commitments have been accepted and important steps have been taken, with the conviction that every fulfilled criterion would be assessed objectively and predictably.

For this reason, he stressed that today it is important for there to be confidence that the process will move forward according to the same rules that apply to all other candidates and all former candidate countries.

He added that our commitment remains unchanged and that the country will continue with reforms, strengthen the economy, institutions and the rule of law, because this is in the interest of citizens and because European values are understood as values that should be part of the daily functioning of institutions.