site.btaHristijan Mickoski Meets with Antonio Costa in Munich, Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria, North Macedonia Expected to Meet on Saturday

The European integration of North Macedonia, "the efforts and concessions that have been made in this direction", as well as "the need to open the doors to the EU" for the country were on the agenda of talks between North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and European Council President Antonio Costa on Friday, Skopje’s government press service said. The meeting between the two took place on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

"The country deserves to move forward and finally not be held hostage by bilateral disputes and obstacles, of which there have been many in the past. In this respect, (North) Macedonia has done a lot and the European Union must show its willingness to appreciate it in the right way - by accelerating the negotiation process", Mickoski noted during the meeting. 

He also noted that the government in Skopje is "strongly committed to judicial reforms, the rule of law and the fight against organized crime, which requires the support and mobilization of all actors in this process", while the main objective - raising the living standards of citizens - will be achieved through innovation, investment and education.

North Macedonia’s delegation, led by Mickoski, also includes Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Timco Mucunski, Defence Minister Vlado Misajlovski, Interior Minister Pance Toskovski and European Affairs Minister Orhan Murtezani.

In addition to the meeting with Costa, the agenda of Mickoski's bilateral meetings also includes meetings with Munich Conference President Christoph Heusgen, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and other political leaders.

The media in North Macedonia are expecting a meeting on the sidelines also between the foreign ministers of Bulgaria Georg Georgiev and North Macedonia Timco Mucunski, which, according to unofficial information, will take place tomorrow. A possible meeting between the two ministers in Munich was also announced two days ago by Mickoski.