English
Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski responded to claims from former Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani (DUI) that he negotiated a railroad connection deal with Bulgaria. In his comment, Osmani claimed that Macedonia lost 60.7 million EUR in IPA funding for the east-west railroad corridor.
In 2024, from the previous Government, we inherited an agreement that provided for a dead-end half of a railroad tunnel. The project provided IPA funds that were supposed to be spent by November 2024, and the Government was formed in June. That was the contract SDSM and DUI left us. We threw out this proposal and engaged in serious talks with the EU and Bulgaria. And now we have an agreement for a full tunnel, with EU grant funds. Today we had the first meeting of the joint group between Macedonia and Bulgaria and we are sending a joint letter to EU, EIB and EBRD to request funding. We righted the whole process and put it on straith tracks, said Nikoloski.