The Government of North Macedonia has approved some of the nominees who will represent the country at its diplomatic missions abroad. Albanian diplomats Elma Altorok and Driton Kuçi are among those selected.

Elma Altorok, the only career diplomat selected by the Government at its May 26 session, is preparing her policy platform as part of the procedure for her appointment as ambassador to Cairo. She is expected to move from her position as acting head of North Macedonia’s embassy in the Egyptian capital to the post of ambassador.

Altorok has already served in a diplomatic capacity in Egypt, a country of 120 million people, and has secured the confidence of the institutions to continue her work in this Middle Eastern country. Before her appointment, she must defend her policy platform before the relevant committees. This will be her third diplomatic posting in the Middle East.

Driton Kuçi, regarded as one of the country’s successful diplomats, will continue his service in Oslo, Norway. As he has previously served as ambassador in Oslo, this will be his second term in the country.

For other diplomatic missions, the Government has selected Filip Pashun as ambassador to Athens, Tatjana Loparskin to Budapest and lawyer Jasmin Kalaç to Sarajevo.

Pending the completion of parliamentary procedures are the appointments of Krum Efremov as ambassador to Bulgaria, Gabriel Atanasov to Romania, Muharem Jusuf to Sweden and Katerina Todorovska to Kosovo./Alsat/

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Timčo Mucunski, North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, said in an interview with Politico’s “Brussels Playbook” that his country deserves a credible, fair and predictable path toward full membership in the European Union.

According to the Politico article, the country has held EU candidate status since 2005 and is fully aligned with the Union’s foreign policy. However, two decades later, it is still waiting for accession negotiations to begin in earnest.

Mucunski acknowledged that the lack of political results has at times caused considerable frustration. He also said the country has become a “case study” in how bilateral disputes can block the European Union’s enlargement process.

Politico notes that other candidates have made progress: Montenegro is advancing rapidly toward membership, Albania has completed the first three negotiating chapters, while Ukraine and Moldova are moving forward in the negotiation process. Meanwhile, North Macedonia has not closed a single chapter in more than 20 years.

“To say that we have been treated unfairly is an understatement,” Mucunski said.

According to the minister, the proposal to amend the Constitution has become a politically toxic issue because “too many” concessions have been made. He added that Macedonians are tired of the “constant shifting of the goalposts” and do not believe that Bulgaria will refrain from making new demands.

“This is an absolute abuse of the position of a European Union member state,” Mucunski said.

He drew a parallel with relations between Ireland and the United Kingdom, saying that their complex differences might not have been overcome without shared membership in the European Union.

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In a media appearance, North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski announced that talks with EU member states, the bloc’s institutions, and official Sofia are ongoing. However, he stressed that the details of these contacts are kept away from public attention to avoid jeopardizing progress, underlining that open debates would not yield the desired outcome.

The minister was categorical that Skopje will not accept any compromise that infringes on Macedonian history and national identity. He drew a clear distinction between fulfilling obligations under international law and situations where bilateral disputes are instrumentalized to erect unjustified barriers in the accession process, based on personal perceptions.

“We have mutual commitments that extend beyond the political sphere, including economic and social ones, which we are obliged to honor under public international law. The matter changes entirely when someone uses this context of bilateral agreements to unfairly obstruct our path,” Mucunski explained.

He reaffirmed that the protocols are not part of the negotiating framework and expressed full alignment with the position of President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova. According to this view, the text of the negotiating framework contains no provisions, either explicit or implicit, that determine when constitutional amendments would enter into force.

Focusing on the formal aspect, the minister pointed out a fundamental difference from a legal and nomotechnical perspective between what is stated in the European Council conclusions and the negotiating framework, and the content of the Second Protocol.

“Our only path is to aim for a solution. But I guarantee the Macedonian people that whatever variant emerges, it will be in line with the principles and pillars that the Government has made public. Are we working on a way out of this situation? Indeed we are. And our efforts for an honest and sustainable solution have not ceased throughout these years. I believe there is an encouraging momentum to overcome the deadlock, but there is still no formula we can make public. Until all parties involved give their consent, we are only talking about consultations. For now, I do not want to play judge on whether we are close to or far from an agreement,” Mucunski said.

Regarding the unofficial documents that circulated in recent months, Mucunski noted that in-depth discussions on the future of enlargement policy are already taking place within the European Union. According to him, the existing mechanism is seen as outdated and in need of a fundamental overhaul, especially after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, a development that has made enlargement one of the top priorities on the European agenda.

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The reaction comes after VLEN MP Bekim Qoku announced that he, MP Adnan Azizi, and the deputy secretary-general of the Government, Hasim Murtezani, had been denied entry into Albania.

In a response to “Lokalno,” after being asked whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been informed about the denial of entry of the country’s officials into Albania, the ministry said it had requested information on the case from the Albanian Embassy.

“At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, at our request, a meeting was held with a representative of the Embassy of the Republic of Albania. In the spirit of the friendly relations between the two countries, neighbors and NATO allies, official information was requested at the meeting from the Albanian authorities regarding the incident that took place at the Qafë Thanë border crossing, during which citizens of our country were not allowed to enter the Republic of Albania,” the ministry said.

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“The message is clear: NATO is fulfilling its duties. We have reaffirmed our shared commitment to greater investment in defense, the further strengthening of defense capabilities, a fairer distribution of responsibilities among allies, and continued support for Ukraine,” Mucunski wrote.

He said that, on the sidelines of the Summit, he held several bilateral meetings with counterparts from NATO member states, as well as with senior officials from allied and partner countries.

According to him, these discussions focused on bilateral relations, cooperation within NATO, as well as current challenges related to regional and global security.

“As a committed and reliable ally, we continue to contribute actively to strengthening collective security, stability, and unity,” Mucunski said./Telegrafi/

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According to Mucunski’s statement, the talks addressed opportunities to further advance bilateral cooperation in the security and defense sectors, while the two sides also exchanged views on current security challenges at the regional and international levels.

“We discussed the further strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the field of security and defense. We also exchanged views on current regional and international security challenges. I emphasized our role as a NATO member state and welcomed Qatar’s role as an important partner of the Alliance,” the Foreign Minister’s statement said.

Mucunski also said that the meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment to preserving peace, stability and security through strengthening dialogue and promoting bilateral and multilateral cooperation./Telegraph/

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