Macedonia faces EU warning of political pressure on courts and widespread corruption

The European Commission’s 2026 Rule‑of‑law report says North Macedonia has no judicial reforms, corruption is "widely spread" and the courts and public prosecutor’s office are under political pressure. It notes a 4.3 % budget cut for the judiciary in 2025 and that funding for courts (0.28 % of GDP) and prosecutors (0.21 % of the budget) is far below the statutory levels of 0.8 % and 0.4 % respectively. SDSM executive‑board member Aleksandar Naumoski quoted the report, calling it a “red card” for Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and his government. Mickoski responded that no additional funds will be granted to judges or prosecutors until they show better results, describing the Commission’s assessment as “the best report so far”. Eurostat data released the same week shows Macedonia has 20.1 professional judges per 100 000 inhabitants – above the EU average but declining steadily. Opposition parties, including Levica, reiterated the Commission’s findings, highlighting high corruption risks in health care and public procurement.