SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s center-right leader secured parliamentary approval to lead a new coalition government in a vote late Sunday. Mickoski, a former professor of engineering, has pledged to continue his center-left predecessors’ efforts to shepherd North Macedonia into the EU. However, VMRO-DPMNE’s questioning of key agreements with neighboring Bulgaria and Greece — both which can block North Macedonia’s accession — could put the brakes on the EU project, said political analyst Petar Arsovski. North Macedonia’s previous government had accepted — but failed to win parliamentary backing for — a Bulgarian demand to recognize a Bulgarian minority through constitutional amendment. In exchange, Bulgaria had agreed to drop its objections to North Macedonia joining the EU.
