Fatmir Besimi Professor at the South East European University and former Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs These days, it seems that all of the attention is aimed at September 30, the day of the referendum. And rightfully so. That is our D-Day, when the historic decision on our future will be made. The day …
Aleksandra M. Mitevska In January 2012, a referendum on EU accession took place in Croatia, which at one time walked alongside Macedonia on the Euro-Atlantic path – about half a year after the country completed negotiations with the European Union. 43.5 percent of registered voters came out and voted in the referendum, of which just …
I urge the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia to come out in large numbers and vote in the referendum on the agreement with Greece on September 30 in order to pave country’s way for EU and NATO integration, Kosovo’s Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said Thursday in Skopje. At the joint press conference with his …
The success of the referendum, according to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, will be a strong and clear signal for all political factors in the country. The successful referendum, he said, will also be crucial for the behavior of the MPs in the Assembly, who will face the will of the citizens when deciding on constitutional …
Zaev for Nezavisen Vesnik: The final decision will be made by those who will vote Read More »
Aleksandar Nikoloski Vice President of VMRO-DPMNE We are reaching the end of the campaign for the referendum in which Macedonian citizens need to decide whether they will rename themselves and the state, or reject it. In the overall communication in the past period, it is clear that, on the one hand, the citizens, above all …
Director-General for EU Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Christian Danielsson officially launched Thursday the preparations for Macedonia’s EU accession talks. Danielsson told Macedonia and Albania’s negotiating teams that today “marks the start of the most intensive engagement in our long relationship.” “Our experts will elaborate the length and depth of the European Acquis Communautaire, i.e. …
Erol Rizaov Let’s clean this piece of land, let’s sweep our own yard of the mess made by those who ruined everything, those who are spreading hatred and lies. Let’s show that we are not that kind of people, that our people are not like this, but that the filth comes from a handful of …
Today, Thursday Sept.27, Macedonia starts the screening process for EU accession negotiations. Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani is heading the Macedonian delegation in Brussels, which on Sept. 27 will begin screening related to Chapter 23 — Judiciary and Fundamental rights. The delegation counts about 40 people from the country’s institutions and includes Justice …
Macedonia starts screening process for EU negotiations today Read More »
Day after day, one member after the other, VMRO-DPMNE clearly is turning to a boycott of the referendum instead of the publicly expressed position for an individual decision. Official campaign does not lead, but officials (former and current), members of the Executive Committee, MPs and members of the party openly say that they will not …
The leader of the main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE Hristijan Mickoski, in an interview with Nezavisen Vesnik/Independent newspaper, believes that the referendum, which is to be held on Sunday, will fail. He is convinced that the number of those who would abstain and those who would vote “against” the agreement with Greece will be much higher …
Mickoski for Nezavisen Vesnik: The referendum will fail Read More »
Michael Carpenter is senior director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. He is a former a deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia and foreign policy advisor to Vice President Joe Biden. The small Balkan country of Macedonia, soon to be named North Macedonia if citizens vote to …
Michael Carpenter: It’s time for Macedonia to accept compromise Read More »
The Prespa agreement and the success of the referendum which will be held on September 30 is an opportunity to improve security in the region, security experts in Skopje say. Zoran Todorov of the Diplomatic Corpus, says that the Prespa Agreement aims at putting an end to a number of disputes and to improve regional …
Security experts comment the referendum in Macedonia Read More »
The official State Election Commission (SEC) data shows that 11.907 domestic and 493 foreign observers have been accredited to monitor the September 30 referendum. Additionally, 194 translators have been accredited to the SEC. Besides domestic, the referendum will be covered by foreign journalists. The SEC has also accredited 83 journalists from 32 media outlets, with …
11.907 domestic and 493 foreign observers to monitor the upcoming referendum Read More »
President Gjorge Ivanov is scheduled to address the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 27. The theme this year is Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies. Ivanov attended Tuesday the opening of the annual high level general debate …
Ivanov to address the UN General Assembly tomorrow Read More »
We need to accept the name deal because it is the only viable solution, said Vasil Tupurkovski in a recent interview with MIA. Tupurkovski is an expert in international law, founder of the erstwhile Democratic Alternative party and current president of the Macedonian Olympic Committee. “Twenty-seven years ago,” Tupurkovski said, “we had quite an acceptable …
Tupurkovski: After 27 years this is the only viable solution Read More »
His (and most likely his last) visit to the United States as President of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov, was used for sending messages for the boycott of the upcoming referendum on the name, a problem that hampered the realization of the country’s strategic priorities for more than two and a half decades. Ivanov’s address to the …
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that Greece has “turned the page” after eight years of austerity and economic depression during his speech at the annual Concordia Summit in New York. Referring to the Prespa agreement between Greece and Macedonia, he said that it would help make the Balkans “a region of peace and stability.” Tsipras …
Tsipras: The thorny issue that had plagued the two countries is nearing its end Read More »
So far, we have had a good dialogue with the opposition and consensus on many important issues, and this has been confirmed because the MPs voted together for two-thirds and laws with a simple majority. We recentlywe elected the new OTA Director together, and that’s good, hopeful. Even for the referendum, Mickoski is not aware …
Zaev: We have consensus on many issues with the opposition, including the referendum Read More »
Zvonko Davidovic Lawyer We are one strange country, inhabited by an even stranger nation, a country where you will hardly be able to find logic and justification for certain actions and behavior of people, a country of strange standards, and an even more thoughtful way of thinking. Macedonia is a country of denial, debates, hiding …
Ljupco Popovski Things became clearer one week before the referendum. Macedonia, at least its political establishment, was publicly divided into two hemispheres, as expected, although some tried to claim that things were not as they appear. First, the VMRO Kremlinologists missed the analysis, believing that a carefully cited statement from the president’s office after the …
