Faced with an embarrassing media report about the type of people he hired as advisers, Zoran Zaev insisted that they are good hires and revealed that one of them is close to the office of French President Emmanuel Macron and should help in getting France to approve opening of the EU accession talks for Macedonia.

Questioned in Parliament about the hiring of this adviser – Ljupco Zafirovski – who is paid 75.000 denars per month, Zaev initially insisted he doesn’t know the salary given to Zafirovski, but then justified his hiring, stating that this is a person close to the office of Emmanuel Macron – the key obstacle to opening EU accession talks with Macedonia.

He has contacts with the diplomatic department of Macron’s office and with the French Government, which is receiving little information about the developments here. Sometimes you need to provide more information to bring the Macron office to our side. You know that France, the Netherlands and Denmark had reservations over EU expansion. His hiring is more intensive because he spends more time in France, the costs there are high and the law allows us to pay him more, Zaev explained.

The public was mostly focused on another of the advisers – Aleksandar Ruzin, son of former Macedonian Ambassador to NATO Nano Ruzin. Aleksandar didn’t shy away from promising state offices to girls on public social media posts after Zaev took over the Government, and then reminding Zaev of his promises, also in public posts, after he didn’t deliver soon enough. Ruzin was eventually rewarded with a 50.000 denars a month (twice the average salary) post as adviser working on improving ties with France and the Benelux countries. His weird social media comments were widely shared after the report of his post and especially his salary were made public.

The story of Zaev’s adviser gets weirder and weirder

We are working on several projects to bring foreign investment from France. Ruzin is active in the industrial zones, he is talking to mayors and is helping motivate French companies in the field of environmental investments. He has connections, Zaev said about his adviser Aleksandar Ruzin.