In meetings with the Mayor of the Municipality of Kičevo, Aleksandar Jovanovski, and the municipal council, the talks focused on the benefits of EU membership, as well as the impact of the Union’s financial assistance in this region.

Asked by journalists about the lack of activities and facilities for young people in this area, Rokas said the issue should be addressed jointly and through an inclusive approach. According to him, otherwise the wave of migration will continue to grow.

“It is true that if young people have no other options, if they have no cinema, no sports halls, no place where they can have fun, other than casinos and betting shops, I think they are left with no choice but to migrate, which is another very major social issue. The government must work to find solutions and respond to this. The European Union provides support through youth measures. It also tries to ensure quality education for young people. The European Union works with the Ministry of Education with the aim of preparing good laws that will also create good conditions for education. We also have ERASMUS+ here, which also helps young entrepreneurs open various start-ups,” said EU Ambassador Mihalis Rokas.

For his part, the Mayor of the Municipality of Kičevo, Aleksandar Jovanovski, said Rokas’s presence sends a clear message of cooperation and support.

“With his very presence, Mr. Rokas brought me a message, and the EU is also sending a message to us as a nation, as a state, as a municipality: an outstretched hand for joint cooperation, the advancement of our relations, mutual assistance, and the improvement of living conditions in our municipality and in our country in general,” emphasized the Mayor of the Municipality of Kičevo, Aleksandar Jovanovski.

EU Ambassador Rokas’s stay in Kičevo is part of an informational initiative aimed at bringing the European Union and the country’s integration process closer to local communities. As part of this visit, he also held a meeting with representatives of civil society and took part in an open discussion with the citizens of Kičevo. /rtvm2

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Responding to journalists’ questions about the guarantees that the Government of North Macedonia is seeking in order to proceed with implementing the constitutional changes, which are necessary to begin the substantive process of accession negotiations with the EU, Kos said that EU enlargement is not based on guarantees given in advance, but on trust, commitments, dedication, delivery and work.

She said she is not the person who can give advice on how trust is built with neighbors, but stressed that the greater this trust is, the easier progress in the accession process becomes. According to her, this process does not involve only the technical side and the reforms that need to be carried out, but is also linked to the political dynamics in the member states.

Kos underlined that trust can be built not only through kind words, but also through good deeds. According to her, this is achieved by avoiding actions and statements that could increase tensions, by respecting international law, by resolving disputes peacefully and by cooperating on shared issues. She added that there are many such shared issues in the EU.

In the end, Marta Kos stressed that building trust helps regional stability and that this is not linked only to one member state, but to building trust with all twenty-seven member states, Kos said./Telegrafi/

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According to the party, this assessment by the European Commission proves that the country is on the right track and that the progress achieved has been recognized by the institution that measures the quality and implementation of reforms.

VMRO-DPMNE also stresses that another sign of the success of the reforms is the European Commission’s proposal for the reallocation of funds from the Growth Plan, which would bring greater financial support to the states that have achieved the best results.

“This is recognition of the work that has been done, but also an opportunity for Macedonia to secure additional funds for development,” the party said.

In the same statement, the party expressed the view that it is incomprehensible that, according to it, SDSM and Levica continue to block laws stemming from the Reform Agenda.

“Every obstacle from SDSM and Levica does not obstruct the Government, but instead obstructs the fulfillment of the state’s obligations and endangers the opportunities opened up by the Growth Plan,” the statement said.

VMRO-DPMNE called on SDSM and Levica to abandon their day-to-day political interests and support the laws related to the Reform Agenda, including the Electoral Code, stressing that they are in the interest of the citizens and the country’s European future.

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According to the study prepared by KPMG LLP on behalf of Philip Morris Products S.A., for the first time since 2014, more than one in ten cigarettes consumed in the EU belong to the illegal market. In 2025, this volume reached 41.8 billion cigarettes, or 10.3% of total consumption, while estimated losses in tax revenues amount to 16.7 billion euros. This is the first return above the 10% threshold since 2014.

The same data show that the trend is rising across Europe. In the 38 countries included in the study, illegal consumption was estimated at 55.3 billion cigarettes, with estimated losses for state budgets of 22.4 billion euros. The report stresses that the main share of this market consists of counterfeit cigarettes, which amount to 18.3 billion units, or 44% of total illegal consumption in the EU. Compared with 2024, the quantity of counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco products increased by more than 20%.

According to expert assessments, high levels of taxation and restrictive rules may push consumers toward the illegal market. At a conference on the illegal tobacco trade held in Brussels, Lithuania’s deputy border police commander, Donatas Shkarnulis, said better alignment of laws and administrative methods is needed to tackle this activity more effectively.

“We are doing a lot. However, as shown in the presentations, the production of counterfeits continues to grow over time. Our efforts to reduce this phenomenon are not always sufficient. Better harmonization of laws and administrative methods is needed to preserve our ability to deal with this problem,” Shkarnulis said.

Hristos Harpantidis, general manager for corporate affairs at Philip Morris, also underlined that the fight against illegal trade requires joint action, with stronger law enforcement, cooperation between the public and private sectors, as well as balanced regulations that are evidence-based and practical to implement.

The report singles out France, Belgium and the Netherlands as some of the EU countries where illegal consumption has increased under the impact of tougher regulatory policies. France remains the largest illegal cigarette market in Europe, where 41.4% of total consumption is illegal. In Belgium, this percentage is 24.8%, while in the Netherlands it reaches 22.1%.

On the other hand, the report also highlights cases where illegal trade has declined thanks to balanced policies that combine predictable fiscal approaches, proportional regulation and consistent enforcement. Greece, for example, records a 14.1% share for illegal trade, down from more than 20% in past years. Likewise, Ukraine has posted positive results, reducing illegal trade by almost 1 billion cigarettes despite the difficult security situation.

In Macedonia, the level of illegal cigarette consumption remains relatively low compared with many EU markets, but the clear expansion of its share of the market remains a concern.

The data show that illegal cigarettes account for about 3.6% of overall consumption, while compared with last year this share has increased by approximately 1.3 percentage points. This shows that the market is not remaining stable, but is expanding.

This increase is seen as an early signal of changes in the system. It suggests that illegal cigarettes are becoming more accessible or more attractive to consumers. Although the level remains moderate, the increase shows that pressure on the legal market is growing and that illegal supply is intensifying.

It is also emphasized that this analysis does not include illegal hand-rolled tobacco, which represents a separate and often even greater challenge in North Macedonia, at around 13% in total.

According to the assessment presented, such an increase is rarely linked only to local changes in consumption. Within the framework of KPMG’s analysis, increases are usually accompanied by stronger supply dynamics, implying that products are entering the market more easily and in larger quantities through broader regional flows. This indicates that the country is gradually shifting from a mainly destination market into a link in the movement and redistribution of illegal products in the region.

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