A few days before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lands in Skopje, the government is sending Brussels a new message: talks with Bulgaria should no longer be purely bilateral, but held in a European format, with EU representatives at the table. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says it would be preferable for the dialogue with Sofia to continue with European mediators, so that both sides' arguments are heard. The red lines, he adds, stay - no concessions.

In the background is a report by Brussels-based Politico which, citing two senior Commission officials, says the EU is preparing accession "roadmaps" for Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova. Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not on that list.

Mickoski neither confirms nor accepts the report. "That information was published by a media outlet, I don't know if it's accurate, and if it is, the EU should be asked why," he said, pointing out that the country has delivered most of the reforms under the Reform Agenda and the Growth Plan. "If EU accession is a merit-based process, then to me this is illogical." His own information, he says, is different.

A mediator - a way out, or just another waiting room?

The idea of European mediation has its own logic. Skopje has long been asking for guarantees that meeting the current condition - constitutional amendments that would write Bulgarians into the Constitution - won't be followed by fresh demands from Sofia. Hence the insistence on "predictability." Brussels, on the other hand, sticks to its position that those very constitutional amendments are the next necessary step. So far there is no official confirmation that any new format has actually been agreed.

The opposition isn't buying it. The SDSM accuses the prime minister of taking away citizens' European future, in language that is hard to mistake for diplomacy: "There aren't two Mickoskis. There is one bandit. In opposition, he defends the collective interest. In power, he sells it."

Macedonia has been a candidate for membership since 2005. Ukraine and Moldova got candidate status in 2022, and according to Politico they are already on the roadmap list. A mediator can only help if it has a clear mandate and a deadline. Without that, the question is whether we are getting a solution - or just another counter to queue in front of, this time with a European stamp on it.