At a rally in Kisela Voda on Monday, President Stevo Pendarovski, who’s running for a second term, stated that he was convinced that he and SDSM would have a double election victory and the country would be run by a political structure consisting of people who knew North Macedonia had to be part of the EU to be prosperous. He ...

A government of national salvation is DUI’s latest idea in the pre-election period. If he wins the election, its presidential candidate, Bujar Osmani, will convene a meeting of party leaders after which all would become part of a joint government for the constitutional changes to be implemented. The VLEN coalition, however, doesn’t find the idea acceptable. “It is hypocritical, dishonest, ...

At the EU meets the Balkans Forum in Sofia, on Monday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi once again underlined the importance of criteria on the EU path being met. “We concluded the screening process with Albania and North Macedonia. So, we are now waiting for the first cluster to be opened with Albania. We are ready to move the process with North Macedonia ...

Commenting on the negotiating framework, in an interview with BGNES, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, who visited Sofia on Monday, stated that assumed obligations had to be fulfilled. As he pointed out, the criteria have been very clear since the adoption of the framework in 2022. The Commissioner doesn’t expect any change in that regard. He hopes that after the ...

In an interview with TV21 on Monday, President and presidential candidate Stevo Pendarovski said that US diplomacy had been more involved in solving the dispute with Bulgaria and for EU membership of North Macedonia than the diplomacy of some major countries in Europe. “We’re too small to be at the Russian-invasion-of-Ukraine, Israel-Hamas war level for the heaviest diplomatic artillery to ...

Monday saw an argument and accusations were traded between caretaker Interior Minister Pance Toskovski and PortaliX editor and journalist Furkan Saliu, who had been detained the previous day during a football match between BVK Konjare and Kumanovo. Toskovski said there was evidence that Saliu had attacked or, at the very least, prevented an officer from doing their job. On the ...

PortaliX editor and journalist Furkan Saliu was arrested on Sunday during a football match in the village of Sredno Konjari. As the Interior Ministry said, 20 minutes before the end of the match, there was an attempt for a fight between the home supporters and away players. Services securing the match prevented the attempt, while the match was stopped. Saliu, ...

At a rally in Stip on Friday, President Stevo Pendarovski, who’s running for a second term, stated that the elections would allow citizens to choose whether they would support “the so-called patriots” or those that had shown how state interests were protected. He also announced vetting of judges, prosecutors, and politicians. When it comes to VMRO-DPMNE’s candidate, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, ...

On Saturday night, VLEN presidential candidate Arben Taravari’s billboard near the Skopje Zoo was damaged by fire. Taravari’s camp has urged authorities to find those responsible. “We would like to believe this is an accident, but the other side of the billboard was not even touched,” VLEN said on Sunday, adding that those responsible had to be punished by the ...

In an interview with RFE Macedonian, VLEN presidential candidate Arben Taravari says the constitutional changes are the only option on the EU path. “I said in 2022 in June, too, when the European proposal was adopted for the Macedonia-Bulgaria deal – all those negotiations were non-transparent and non-inclusive. However, considering that was accepted and passed in Parliament, it’s a fact ...