President Gjorge Ivanov will not be in the country on the day when a referendum has been scheduled on a proposed change of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia, several Macedonian media outlets report on Thursday. Representatives of Ivanov’s office are yet to issue an official position on whether the President will be …
President Ivanov out of the country on the referendum day Read More »
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov on Thursday and Friday in Vienna will take part in an informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU members and EU candidate countries, namely Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Dimitrov has been invited to attend by EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and Karin Kneissl, Minister for Europe, Integration …
Dimitrov in an informal meeting with foreign EU ministers in Vienna Read More »
Ljupco Popovski At first, and maybe even at second sight, the connection between the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, the ancient conqueror Alexander the Great, and the VMRO the blood-covered war leader Vanco Mihailov, is almost impossible to find. Nevertheless, the present can draw a parallel to these three figures. It is simple – confronting the …
About 30 political parties have rallied around the call to the citizens for a positive outcome of the referendum and the Euro-Atlantic future of Macedonia by endorsing several joint principles. The political parties have agreed to call on the citizens to come out on September 30 and vote Yes in the upcoming name referendum, it …
30 political parties join forces to campaign for ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum Read More »
Aleksandar Nikoloski My previous article published in Nezavisen Vesnik/Independent newspaper dedicated to the coming generation, which will turn 18 this year, born at the beginning of the new millennium in 2000, has sparked a lot of attention. Far more than I expected, to be perfectly honest. I only shared part of the visions of where …
Erol Rizaov Who in this poor country needs to think a little bit harder in order to understand it, to realize that they should do their jobs for which they were elected and are responsible of, for which they swore before the establishment and before the citizens of Macedonia. These people are the Prime Minister …
The OSCE Mission to Skopje presented Wednesday its first interim report on the activities and cases of the Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), which provides a detailed analysis of, and recommendations for the work of the Office, highlighting the challenges encountered and the successes achieved. The report is the result of the Mission’s trial monitoring observations …
OSCE presents first report on the work of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Read More »
The head of the European Initiative for Stability, Gerald Knaus says that the debate for border changes between Kosovo and Serbia is a dangerous one and could spark conflicts in the Balkans. “The idea that the best solution of the problems with the minorities is by removing minorities or by changing borders, has always been …
A majority of Macedonians favor resolving the name dispute with Greece and support Macedonia becoming a member of the European Union and NATO, shows a poll of the International Republican Institute (IRI) ahead of the name referendum on September 30. A combined 57 percent “completely support” (37 percent) or “somewhat support” (20 percent) the proposal for …
IRI poll: Support for the name agreement continues to rise Read More »
The campaign for the referendum will cost no more than 400,000 euros, and the results will guarantee that a necessary two-thirds majority will be provided later in parliament to ratify the agreement with Greece, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has estimated. He reiterated that campaign budget money will not be given to lawmakers, but will be …
The referendum campaign will not cost more than 400,000 euros Read More »
The referendum concerning the issue of the name and the country’s accession in the NATO and EU is on the focus of the visit that Macedonia’s Foreign minister, Nikola Dimitrov is holding in Brussels. Yesterday he met with NATO senior officials, while today he will also deliver a speech in front of the European Parliament …
FM Dimitrov in Brussels, the referendum on the focus of the agenda Read More »
The majority of members of the Academy of Science and Arts in Macedonia have issued signals in favour of the referendum on the name. Its chairman, Taki Fiti said in a meeting in Ohrid that the deal reached in Prespa between Skopje and Athens, opens up many positive opportunities for the country. “Let us hope that …
Academics are in favour of the “yes” vote in the referendum Read More »
Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, has said that accession negotiations in the future will take longer than before. ‘Quality before speed,’ Hahn said in an interview with the Austrian daily Tiroler Tageszeitung adding that many things had come to light with the membership of Hungary and Romania. The EU, he noted, …
Hahn: Accession negotiations in the future will take longer than before Read More »
Macedonia is proud of the strategic partnership with the United States and appreciates the support of official Washington for its EU and NATO membership, Defense Minister Radmila Sekerisnka said Tuesday at a meeting with a delegation of US Congressmen, led by Bill Flores. The meeting affirmed the excellent partnership between the two countries and the …
A government delegation, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, attended Tuesday a formal opening of two modern, multi-purpose public rooms within the Kriva Palanka municipality building, the government said in a press release. The rooms, equipped with 3D technology, are primarily aimed to promote tourism in the municipality and the region, PM Zaev said at …
SDSM so far has no projection of how much money it will spend on the referendum campaign, but all the money that will be spent from the budget on this purpose will be solely and exclusively for lease of media space, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said today in Kriva Palanka, where he attended the celebration …
Zaev: Macedonia rarely gets such a chance – to join the European family Read More »
The citizens of Macedonia should decide whether they will become part of the European Union or return to isolation, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, told reporters on Monday. It’s up to the citizens of Macedonia to either choose isolation, from which the country barely manged to pull out, or …
Hahn: Citizens of Macedonia should choose between EU membership and isolation Read More »
The September referendum and the functioning of the Macedonian Parliament was discussed at a meeting of Parliament Speaker, vice-presidents and coordinators of the parliamentary groups with five visiting American congressmen. They include Bill Flores, Gerry Connolly, Dina Titus, Susan Davis and David Price. On Monday, they are meeting with chairmen of several parliamentary committees and …
American congressmen hold meetings in Macedonian Parliament Read More »
The 33 people accused for participating in the violent storming of Parliament in April 2017 at a hearing on Monday pleaded not guilty after saying they understood the charges against them. Of those, 31 are charged with ‘terrorist endangerment of the constitutional order’ and two are tried on ‘complicity’ charges. The trial continues on August …
All defendants plead not guilty in the April 27 case Read More »
It will be revealed, most likely, how much money each of the caucuses in Parliament will get to run the referendum campaign this Wednesday. Funding for the campaign does not involve cash payments to parliamentary groups and lawmakers, the Parliament’s press service says. The campaign will be realized by purchasing commercial space in the media …
Referendum campaign: Number of parties, amount of funds to be known Wednesday Read More »
