Peter Magyar announced that Hungary will no longer serve as a refuge for international fugitives from justice. Nikola Gruevski, the man who fled Macedonia in November 2018 to avoid prison, suddenly has nowhere to go.

The Basic Criminal Court in Skopje revealed that two final execution orders are active against Gruevski: one and a half years for "Violence in Center" (statute expires September 2027) and nine years for "Vodno Plots" (statute expires 2043). Total: ten and a half years behind bars.

Two cases still pending

Beyond the final verdicts, two cases remain active: "Titanic" and "Talir 2." The latter expires as soon as August 2026 - in just a few months. The 2018 "Tank" case already became statute-barred in October 2024. Justice, it seems, has an expiration date - and that date is slowly passing.

Mickoski: "If he comes, he goes to prison"

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said he has no expectations regarding Gruevski's return. "I have no expectations, but if he appears in Macedonia, there is a final sentence," he said. "Once he appears, naturally, law enforcement will secure him and direct him to serve his prison sentence." The 2018 extradition request was rejected by Hungarian authorities in 2019.

Opposition leader Venko Filipče called on Justice Minister Igor Filkov to immediately file a new extradition request. The Ministry of Justice announced it would seek all case files from the Court and Prosecution.

Who moves first?

German media assess that Orban's defeat is bad news for Vučić, Dodik - and for Mickoski. Orban's umbrella over the Balkans is closing. The question is whether Macedonia will actually seek extradition or whether this is yet another political theater piece where everyone knows the curtain will never fall.

Gruevski also has a company in Hungary. Will he flee to Russia or wait it out? Ten and a half years in prison is not something easily forgotten - nor something easily escaped twice.