Regarding the creation of an organization of Albanian scientists and artists, with the support of municipalities that are ran by the VLEN coalition, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that this is a civic organization and that the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences remains the only such academy in Macedonia. VLEN promised the creation of an Albanian academy, insisting that MANU has not admitted a sufficient number of Albanian academics and artists, but the proposal is not accepted by the Government and VLEN is implementing some form of it using municipal funds.

I do not want the money of the citizens to go to non-governmental organizations, I prefer to see them go toward infrastructure, schools, boulevards, parks, Prime Minister Mickoski said, chiding his coalition partner.

The Prime Minister also condemned the opposition DUI party, which was pushing the issue, insisting that VLEN’s option for a civic organization is not enough and that the Albanians need to have an Academy of their own. “I don’t want to be an interlocutor on topics that politicize and divide on ethnic grounds. Some of the opposition parties in the Parliament think they can improve their ratings with such topics. As a Government and me as Prime Minister, we remain committed to issues that benefit all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background”, Mickoski said.