Nikoloski: The Bulgaria Problem Will Be Solved If 5–6 Big EU Members Regain the Appetite for Enlargement — If Not, We Stay Where We Are
The deputy prime minister said on Alfa TV that he does not mean Brussels but several large member states; the state, he says, must continue reforms regardless of the EU.
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski said on October 13, on Alfa TV’s “Kolegium” show, that if the appetite for enlargement returns among five or six larger EU members, the issue with Bulgaria will be resolved. He specified that he means member states, not Brussels or the European Commission. Otherwise, he added, Macedonia will remain in its current situation.
Nikoloski said the state should continue reforms and strengthen the economy regardless of European integration, because that is the government’s responsibility. The context: on October 6 the European Commission proposed roadmaps for four countries — Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova — and decision-making by qualified majority, and Macedonia is not among the four. The opening of its first cluster is still conditioned on constitutional amendments concerning Bulgarians.
What the statement does not say: which five or six countries, when the appetite would return, and what happens to the constitutional amendments in the meantime. It is the minister’s assessment, not an agreement or a deadline.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 14, 2026
