Northern Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Christian Michkowski, while addressing a panel discussion on Geostrategy and Energy Security, as part of the Security Conference of Monahu he said he was not surprised by the recent developments and announcements of the new US administration and by the new realities in the world.

Christian Mitskoski, as stated in a statement by the government of Northern Macedonia, pointed out that when talking about two weights and measures in politics, the “Macedonian issue” should be taken into account, because, he said, for two decades his country’s candidacy for EU membership cannot be realized due to artificial issues that are raised each time.

“I heard the voices here in Munich about interference in internal affairs, but when we changed our flag, when we changed our currency or when we changed our constitutional name, what was that? Was it not interference in internal affairs, and why then did no one speak out? Even now we are faced with the requirement to change the constitution again if we want to start accession negotiations with the EU. Isn’t it interference in internal affairs?

 The Prime Minister of North Macedonia also said that his country is part of Europe and wants to implement European values.

“But what is happening is something completely different. We are witnessing the so-called ‘Balkanisation of Europe’, instead of the ‘Europeanisation of the Balkans’. Some Balkan EU member states have brought Balkan conflicts and Balkan values to Brussels, instead of the opposite,”
he added.

“You said that Russia denies the Ukrainian national identity, language, the country’s church, made a terrible invasion that was a big mistake in the 21st century, but at the same time the parliament of one of the newest EU members (by which he means Bulgaria) denies the Macedonian identity, the Macedonian language that has been an official language of the UN since 1945 and has been internationally codified since 1977. I wonder what we are talking about then? Why is everyone silent?”
Hristian Mitzkowski also said.

Referring to his country’s NATO membership (March 2020), Chr. Mitskowski claimed that this was done after “many sacrifices and humiliations” and after his country was “forced to change its name”.

On energy projects in the region, the North Macedonian prime minister said his country is a “crossroads” and can play an important role.

“Corridor XIII, which connects the Black Sea with the Adriatic Sea, is crucial not only for the economy but also for NATO, as it creates a strong east-west transport axis. At the same time, the modernisation of Corridor X could change the way raw materials and goods are transported across Europe, reducing dependence on distant ports such as Rotterdam and Hamburg. If the port of Thessaloniki becomes a key transport hub, North Macedonia will gain a significant economic and geopolitical advantage,” said Hr. Mickoski, who, at least as this announcement from his government indicates, in his remarks to this panel at the Munich Security Conference used his country’s constitutional name, a rarity for him, as he often refers to his country as “Macedonia.”