Monthly Archives: May 2021

Official Sofia: Our Positions Towards Skopje Remain Unchanged

Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister of Bulgaria Svetlan Stoev said during the visit of Enlargement Commissioner at the European Commission (EC) Oliver Varhelyi and Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva to Sofia that Bulgaria will not change its official positions towards Skopje concerning the open bilateral disputes between the two countries. “We remain open for negotiations with official Skopje ...

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Borrell: Skopje Expects First Inter-Governmental Conference This June

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell writes in his political blog that the EU needs to take concrete measures for maintaining the European perspective among the Western Balkans. “I wanted to exchange with the Western Balkans leaders openly and informally about their concerns and proposals for the region and its European future, ...

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Foreign Affairs Ministers of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia Visit Skopje

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg, Czech Republic Jakub Kulhanek and Slovenia Anze Logar, paid on Saturday an official visit to Macedonia. The Ministers were welcomed by their Macedonian counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Bujar Osmani, with whom they discussed the integration of the Western Balkans, including Macedonia, in the EU, as well as reform implementation processes and good ...

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141 New Cases of COVID-19, 64 Deaths Registered During Extended Weekend

The Health Ministry registered over the past 4 days 141 new cases of COVID-19. There are also registered 64 deaths of patients with COVID-19. On Monday, Health Minister Venko Filipce informed via Facebook that a batch of 10,530 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer arrived in Skopje, of which 5,850 are procured directly from the producers, while 4,680 ...

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Varhelyi, Silva to Visit Skopje on Friday

The European Commission (EC) confirmed on Thursday that Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva will pay visit to Sofia and Skopje on Friday. Namely, Varhelyi and Silva will allegedly present a proposal for resolution of the bilateral dispute between official Sofia and Skopje, which has been the reason for delaying of ...

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Radev, Mitsotakis Discuss EU Integration of Western Balkans

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev discussed the EU-integration of the Western Balkans in a phone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “It is our mutual position that the policy of EU enlargement with the countries from Western Balkan is a real investment in the stability of the region, which is why we need to voice strong support for the implementation ...

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Strategic Council on Foreign Policy Inaugurated

The members of the recently established Strategic Council on Foreign Policy were officially inaugurated at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Thursday. The council members also had a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Bujar Osmani, and among them are people coming from the academic community, the areas of diplomacy, security, the business community and from the ...

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50 New Cases of COVID-19 and 16 Deaths in Past 24 Hours

The Health Ministry registered in the past 24 hours 50 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 16 deaths of COVID-19 patients. So far in the country 154,937 cases of COVID-19 have been registered, of which 146,632 have recovered, 3,040 are still active, while 5,265 have passed away. The Health Ministry also informs that so far 232,485 citizens have been ...

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PM Zaev Meets CE President Michel in Brussels

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held a meeting in Brussels with President of the Council of Europe (CE) Charles Michel. At the meeting, Zaev and Michel discussed the process for start of the EU accession negotiations between Skopje and Brussels, with both of them expressing hope that the efforts of the Portuguese presidency with the EU will result in start of ...

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Zaev: If EU Doesn’t Keep Promises, Euroscepticism Will Increase

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says in an interview for Brussels-based news organisation “Politico” that if the EU stalls further the process of enlargement and does not start membership talks with Skopje and Tirana, it will endanger its credibility among the Western Balkans in favour of rival forces. “EU has taken a reputational hit in the Balkans and will lose more ...

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