Tag Archives: Macedonia

Parliament Votes in Need for Amending Electoral Code Related to SEC

The parliament voted in the need for amending the Electoral Code. The amendments were sought by the government in order to prevent the obstruction from the opposition regarding the election of composition of the State Election Commission. The law was drafted with European flag and the procedure is to be led in shortened procedure. Opposition VMRO-DPMNE fiercely reacted to the ...

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National EU Integration Council Session Attended by Commissioner Hahn

Macedonia’s National Council for EU Integration held a session Tuesday, dedicated to the country’s institutional preparedness for the EU accession talks. At the session, also attended by EU Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner Johannes Hahn, members of the council representing the ruling and opposition parties voiced different opinions on the matter. The Council’s chair and member of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE, Nikola Poposki, ...

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Osmani: Time for Big Decisions

This is a time for big decisions. EU and NATO integration is the overlapping point in the country and we have a year ahead of us to prove that we deserve the membership, said Vice Premier for European Affairs and chief negotiator Bujar Osmani on Tuesday. “This is a time for big decisions, historic decisions, strategic decisions, decisions that will ...

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Russian Embassy Calls for Investigations into Allegations

The Russian Embassy calls for calls for an investigation into the Government’s allegations that Russian businessmen paid people to protest against the NATO admission. “We expect that the Macedonian side, within the legal field of its state and international practice, will conduct a detailed and objective investigation of the allegations that the stated members of the Government of the Republic ...

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US Official Marocco Meets Coordinator for Prevention of Violent Extremism

Pete Marocco, US Deputy Assistant Secretary and Senior Official for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), had a meeting Tuesday with Macedonia’s National Coordinator for prevention of violent extremism and fight against terrorism and his deputies, Borce Petrevski, Xheladin Ajvazi and Zlatko Apostolovski respectively.  The talks were focused on initiatives for preventing violent extremism and efforts to strengthen ...

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MEP Vajgl: No Second Chance for EU Integration

This is a key point in Macedonia’s history and should be seen as the first concrete step towards EU membership, said Ivo Vajgl, Macedonia Rapporteur at the European Parliament, while addressing the Parliament’s National Euro-Integration Council on Tuesday. “This is not a formality, this is a credible chance for progress. EU and NATO membership are historic opportunities for Macedonia, there ...

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PM Zaev on Referendum and other Pressing Issues

PM Zoran Zaev expects the process around the date, question and character of the name referendum to be encircled by the end of this week. “We expect as political leaders and representatives of political parliamentary parties to define these issues as deadlines are piling if we wish to choose 23 September or 7 October as projected dates,” said Zaev. Talks ...

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Russian Embassy Assesses Zaev Statement as Irresponsible

The Skopje-based Russian Embassy said Monday the statement of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev that Russian businessmen stoked fans ‘Komiti’ to protest is politically irresponsible. “The statement puts into question the sincerity of the commitment by the Macedonian government to build good relations with Russia. We regretfully note that the russo-phobia is increasingly becoming a tool in foreign and domestic policy,” ...

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New Democracy’s Bakoyiannis on ‘Macedonians’ and ‘Macedonian’ Language

Greek opposition New Democracy feels FM Kotzias has committed a mistake in allowing for the nationality ‘Macedonian’ and the ‘Macedonian’ language. Former FM Dora Bakoyiannis in a statement with Radio 24/7 said the nationality item could be ‘citizens of…’ instead of ‘Macedonians’. “All in New Democracy agrees that it was a big mistake by Mr Kotzias to grant the nationality ...

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Greek Government Spokesperson Assures Parliament will Ratify Name Deal

It is obvious that the name agreement will pass in the Greek parliament, otherwise we would not have signed it, says government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos. In an interview with Greek radio Real FM, Tzanakopoulos explains that the government wants a larger majority “for this important agreement, which closes a 25-year-long issue in the best possible way”. “Independent Greeks have filed ...

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