EU Ambassador to Macedonia Michalis Rokas is conducting a working visit to Gostivar today, bringing the European Union’s enlargement and green transition agenda directly to one of the country’s most diverse municipalities. The visit, organized under the EU’s initiative to bring the integration process closer to local communities, begins with a meeting with Mayor Valbon Limani and members of the Gostivar Municipal Council to discuss the benefits of EU membership and the tangible impact of European funded projects on municipal development and citizens’ quality of life.
Rokas, a Greek diplomat who assumed his post in September 2024 after serving as EU Ambassador to Malaysia, has made outreach beyond the capital a hallmark of his tenure. In recent months, he has emphasized that “Macedonia belongs to the European family” and that the two sides are “much closer than we think,” while consistently stressing the need for pragmatism and unity. His Gostivar visit includes meetings with civil society representatives and an open discussion with local residents, reflecting the EU’s strategy of building grassroots support for accession at a time when political blockades in Skopje have stalled formal negotiations. The ambassador has also been vocal about the need for “real world impact” from EU programs, pushing for concrete outcomes rather than symbolic gestures ahead of COP31.
A central component of the visit is a presentation on the EU LIFE program and opportunities for European financing of environmental, climate policy, and clean energy transition projects. The event, organized under the eHUB4LIFE project, will be opened by Mayor Limani, Ambassador Rokas, and Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Muamet Hodža. The LIFE program, which launched its 2026 Calls for Proposals in April with €600 million available for environment and climate action, is open to Macedonia as an associated country, offering grants for projects in nature conservation, circular economy, clean energy transition, and climate change adaptation. For Gostivar, a municipality with significant environmental challenges and a large Albanian majority population, access to such funding could prove transformative. The visit underscores the EU’s dual message, European integration is not merely a Skopje-Brussels dialogue but a process that must deliver tangible benefits to every corner of the country, and the green transition represents both an obligation and an opportunity for Macedonia’s future within the European family.
