Skopje, 14 April 2026 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told journalists Tuesday he does not expect a change in the country’s relations with Hungary after opposition party Tisza led by Péter Magyar won the country's parliamentary elections on Sunday.

“If you are asking whether I expect a change in relations – no, I absolutely don’t,” Mickoski said after an event marking the anniversary of the Customs Administration.

Mickoski congratulated Péter Magyar on his election as Hungary’s new Prime Minister, noting that he expects European policies and an uncompromising support for the country’s Euro-integration process. The Prime Minister said the Government had an exceptionally close cooperation with the outgoing leader of Hungary, Viktor Orban, but that the will of the Hungarian people is clear.

“The will of the citizens of Hungary is clear and unequivocal, they gave their support to Péter Magyar. I expect his policies to be European, and I expect uncompromising support for the integration of the region, including our country, within the European Union,” Mickoski said.

The specific policies, including the issue with former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, are decisions that will be made by the Hungarian Government, Mickoski said. Quizzed about the issue, the Prime Minister said the country submitted an extradition request for Gruevski in 2018, but it was rejected by the Hungarian authorities in 2019.

“Based on what I am familiar with, there is a procedure if a person has the right to asylum for certain reasons,” Mickoski said, asking journalists to direct all further questions to the Ministry of Justice.

The Prime Minister pointed to a court ruling sentencing Gruevski to serve a prison term, while adding that he personally does not have any expectations regarding the former Prime Minister’s potential return to the country.

“I have no expectations, but if Nikola Gruevski shows up in Macedonia, there is a court verdict, and immediately upon his arrival in the country, the law enforcement authorities will secure him and direct him to serve his prison sentence, in line with the verdict. Of course, every individual has the right to make use of the institutions and exercise their rights to file appeals afterward,” Mickoski said.

Asked if the loan that was taken from Hungary is at risk, the Prime Minister stressed that it is part of an agreement, noting that unilateral changes to agreements are impossible. “The agreement is with the EXIM Bank, not with the Government,” Mickoski said.

“I don’t expect any changes because an agreement is an agreement and it should be respected just as we respect many agreements that were made in the past which we may not like, but it is what it is, this is the reality,” the PM said.

Regarding comments by opposition party SDSM on Orban’s defeat, Mickoski said SDSM’s sister party failed to win a single parliamentary seat in Hungary.

“The most interesting thing I read from SDSM’s world of lies was their joy at Péter Magyar’s victory, who comes from Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party and is a part of the European People’s Party, just like VMRO-DPMNE. Another thing to mention is that SDSM’s sister party failed to win a single seat in the Hungarian Parliament. SDSM had these same ‘successes’ in recent years after their defeats at the local elections in 2021, followed by their defeat at the presidential elections in 2024, their catastrophic defeat at the parliamentary elections, and now once again their catastrophic defeat at the local elections. I can say they will also be defeated at the next parliamentary elections, whenever they are held,” Mickoski said.  

Photo: MIA