Election Reform Deadlock: North Macedonia missed an EU deadline as parties failed to agree on diaspora voting rules, with PM Hristijan Mickoski pushing electronic and postal voting while Social Democrats, Levica, and others warn it threatens ballot secrecy and could enable fraud. EU Rule of Law Watch: The European Commission’s 2026 Rule of Law Report flags uneven progress across the EU and candidate countries, including North Macedonia, noting reforms are moving but concerns persist in some areas like judicial independence and anti-corruption safeguards. India–North Macedonia Diplomacy: President Droupadi Murmu’s July 19-25 state visit tour includes a first-ever visit by an Indian president to North Macedonia (July 21-22), with meetings planned with President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, PM Mickoski, and Parliament, plus an India–North Macedonia business forum. Regional Security Cooperation: North Macedonia participates in multinational air base operations training in Albania, with the European Partnership Flight bringing together defense personnel from multiple countries including North Macedonia to boost interoperability. International Incident, Local Relevance: US investigators took over a probe into a Ryanair flight window failure over Greek airspace, after earlier confusion about the incident location involving North Macedonia—passengers reported a man partly sucked out before being pulled back in. Political Narrative Clash: Albanian politician Arben Taravari criticized the “Serbian World” influence in North Macedonia after Serbian officials’ Kosovo remarks, arguing VMRO-DPMNE authorities are too aligned with Belgrade’s messaging.