According to President Stevo Pendarovski, the chances of North Macedonia getting a date for negotiations in June are less than 50%. In an interview with Euronews Bulgaria, the President says that the negotiations are more complex than before. According to Pendarovski, over the past years, Bulgaria has unexpectedly presented demands related to history, the ethnic origin, which it has tabled, ...

There is no progress towards a solution with Sofia, but the talks continue, according to Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani. As he said on Wednesday, after June, the capacity to find a solution is exhausted. Afterwards, it will be considered which future steps will be taken. According to the Minister, there is no official state stand whether membership in the new ...

In the frames of his visit to the Vatican and Rome, on the occasion of Ss Cyril and Methodius Day, PM Dimitar Kovacevski had an audience with Pope Francis on Monday. North Macedonia and the Vatican, Kovacevski stated, are firmly connected by mutual respect founded on joint historical, cultural, and religious traditions, as well as significant figures like Ss Cyril ...

Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov buried on Friday Enlargement Commissioner’s Oliver Varhelyi’s expectations about Bulgaria allowing a start of negotiations with Skopje in June. Just 24 hours after their meeting in Sofia, Petkov stated that there would be no individual making of decisions regarding the matter. “It should be very clearly said that I, as the PM, don’t assume independently any ...

PM Dimitar Kovacevski hopes the enlargement process, which is founded on a methodology of opening chapters, will not be affected by the adjustment of the Union to the new geopolitical surrounding. According to VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski, North Macedonia has done a lot for Europe and its values. As he added on Thursday, it deserved to start negotiations a long ...

The Elysee Palace has issued a press-release over French President Emmanuel Macron’s consecutive phone conversations with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov, and Petkov’s counterpart from North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski. The goal of the three conversations, during the French Presidency of the EU, was to encourage the two countries to swiftly continue the dialogue over the dispute. Macron ...

On Tuesday, the Trade Union of Education, Science, and Culture held a new meeting with the Education and Science Ministry. Minister Jeton Shaqiri said both sides had accepted the mediator’s proposals regarding all open topics and reasons for the strike. The salary increase will be 15% and start in September. There will be no cuts for the period when the ...

According to PM Dimitar Kovacevski, VMRO-DPMNE is blocking Parliament for political reasons, in order to secure intra-party positions. As he said on Monday, a difficult year is ahead, which is why the blockades should stop, so that the laws to improve the standards are adopted. Kovacevski’s stand is that VMRO-DPMNE is the only opposition party with an irresponsible approach. “I ...

Skopje and Sofia are negotiating but they are far from a solution on paper. On Sunday, information arrived from Bulgaria that there will be no visit. Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov and Government representatives will not visit North Macedonia on 22 May. The reasons are neither technical nor the agenda of the two PMs, but rather expectations not fulfilled by Skopje, ...

“The opposition’s blockades of Parliament have failed. The agenda has been voted through,” SDSM said on Thursday. As the party’s Parliamentary Group Coordinator, Jovan Mitreski, said, SDSM will not allow Hristijan Mickoski and VMRO-DPMNE to take the country back. On the other hand, VMRO-DPMNE said it would expose with the active blockade all policies of the Government it tried to ...