The crisis in North Macedonia runs deep | European Union

On March 16, a fire tore through an improvised nightclub inside an abandoned carpet factory in Kocani, North Macedonia, killing 59 young people and injuring more than 150.

In Kocani, a town of fewer than 25,000 people, the loss is profound – a large part of its youth died in the fire. Like many towns across North Macedonia, it had already been hollowed out by migration. For those young people who stayed, the fire was a devastating reminder of the shrinking possibilities for life at…