The EU has urged North Macedonia to accelerate its accession reforms as the two sides held their 19th Stabilisation and Association Committee meeting in Skopje on 10 February 2026.
The session was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of European Affairs Viktorija Trajkov and Sigrid Brettel, head of unit for Albania and North Macedonia at the European Commission’s DG ENEST, the Directorate-General dealing with EU enlargement and the EU’s neighbourhood policy, the European External Action Service (EEAS) informed on Monday.
Opening remarks were delivered by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of European Affairs Bekim Sali and Valentina Superti, DG ENEST Director for the Western Balkans.
Officials reviewed progress since the previous meeting in 2021, including the completion of the “screening” process — the technical review of how a candidate country’s laws compare with EU rules — and the start of the opening phase of accession negotiations.
The committee said North Macedonia needs to implement conditions set out in European Council conclusions from 2022, and noted work linked to the “fundamentals cluster”, a set of accession chapters that includes rule of law and public administration reforms.
Reforms, elections and foreign policy alignment
It cited a roadmap for public administration reform and a roadmap for rule of law chapters, alongside an action plan on protecting the rights of people belonging to minorities or communities, to be prepared and finalised through an inclusive process.
The committee also reviewed political and economic criteria, implementation of the Reform Agenda under the Reform and Growth Facility, and the Stabilisation and Association Agreement — the framework governing EU relations with North Macedonia — as well as alignment with EU legislation.
It pointed to recommendations in the European Commission’s 2025 report and conclusions from SA Sub-Committees and the PAR Special Group, referring to technical bodies that track progress in specific policy areas.
Political parties and national stakeholders were urged to work together to maintain and strengthen political dialogue, while outstanding recommendations on electoral reform from the OSCE’s election observation office (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission were also flagged.
The committee encouraged continued reforms in areas including the judiciary, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and public administration, and noted work on a new Criminal Code intended to align with the EU acquis — the body of EU law — and international standards.
North Macedonia’s “full alignment” with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy was also welcomed, while good neighbourly relations, regional cooperation and the implementation of bilateral agreements in good faith were reiterated as part of the enlargement process.
