Zagreb, 24 March 2026 (Hina/MIA) — EU membership is “decoration,” while statehood is the highest achievement for any nation, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said Tuesday, as he hosted Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, whose country’s EU path has long been blocked.

After years of a Greek veto — lifted only after the country changed its name to North Macedonia — Skopje now faces objections from Bulgaria, which is demanding constitutional recognition of the Bulgarian minority and acknowledgment of “Bulgarian roots” of the Macedonian nation and language.

“Macedonia is a state, and that is the most it will ever have. EU membership is decoration, and people can be crazy about decorations. Later you realize it is not that important,” Milanović said at a joint press conference, adding he was not offering comfort but a “legitimate provocation,” as too much is being asked of the country.

He said Macedonians should decide whether they want EU membership at any cost, describing the process as a “bidding game” with ever new conditions. “Whatever you do, a new demand follows. Then something comes up that you did not expect,” he said, calling it “bewildering.”

Milanović said he wanted Macedonian citizens to decide for themselves, without external pressure or manipulation, what is best for them, stressing that the process has taken too long. “There is life outside the EU — a successful and entirely dignified life,” he added.

Siljanovska-Davkova said North Macedonia’s EU path — the country has been a candidate since 2005 — has turned into a marathon with an unpredictable outcome and obstacles “not grounded in European law”.

“We embarked on this path with strong commitment … We have received perhaps 20 or more positive annual reports and recommendations from the European Parliament and the European Commission to open negotiations, yet talks have still not begun,” she said.

The European Parliament last July adopted a progress report describing North Macedonia as a reliable partner whose accession has been slowed by bilateral disputes, noting the country had undertaken impressive and difficult reforms, including its historic name change. The report by Austrian Green MEP Thomas Waitz said the process had been delayed for too long by such disputes.

Siljanovska-Davkova said her country — whose political actors are all committed to EU membership and whose foreign and security policy is fully aligned with the bloc — is facing “strange” demands such as constitutional changes, describing this as enormous pressure.

She said North Macedonia is seeking the same standards applied to other member states, namely the Copenhagen criteria — the political, economic and legal conditions, including rule of law and alignment with EU goals, which are required for accession.

However, she said the demands placed on her country relate to history, culture, language and identity, despite the EU Treaty recognizing diversity and respecting the history, culture and language of nations as well as their constitutional and political systems.

She added there is no common EU policy on minorities or language, as these are matters for sovereign states, but “that does not apply to us.”

“We keep hearing new demands. It never stops … We are facing new issues that have nothing to do with the Copenhagen criteria. This is direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” she said.