The President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov attends the 9th Bosporus Summit in Istanbul, Turkey. At the summit, Ivanov spoke about the challenges Macedonia faces, including the integration in the EU. “The EU was the most successful peace project that mobilised the countries in the Balkans. We are voluntarily changing our societies in order to become a part of this union. ...

The European Commission (EC) shares the stand of the EU’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, that Hungary’s decision to grant asylum to former PM Nikola Gruevski warrants further explanations from the Hungarian authorities. Spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said on Thursday that there was no running away from the rule of law. As he added, the asylum ...

According to the Hungarian authorities, a possibility of former PM Nikola Gruevski being extradited doesn’t exist. As Justice Minister Laszlo Trocsanyi said an interview with ECHO TV on Tuesday, after the approval of the asylum request, Gruevski cannot be delivered to “a country in which he is a target of persecution.” The following day, in Macedonia, FM Nikola Dimitrov didn’t ...

At the regional leader’s meeting in Vienna on Monday, organised by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, the EU’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that countries from the Western Balkans (WB) had a European perspective, adding nonetheless that each would be evaluated separately on that path. Each country will be treated separately, according to its merits, ...

According to Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, it will be better for both his country and Greece if Macedonia joins the EU and NATO sooner. “There’s no better place than the European Union. In Greece, too, when the crisis appeared, who actually helped it? Who stood next to it? The European Union. If, God forbid, a problem appears, who will help ...

The EU’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said on Wednesday he had held a useful talk in Helsinki with VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski. “I was crystal-clear that ratification of the Prespa Agreement must now be finalised fast, without any obstacle. I welcome his commitment not to obstruct procedure in Parliament,” he tweeted. As Hahn added ...

The judicial system, security-intelligence services, public administration sector and fight against corruption are the areas on which the reforms contained in the Government’s Plan 18 for getting closer to the EU are focused. Plan 18 is continuation of the reforms implemented with Plan 3-6-9. At Tuesday’s briefing with journalists, ruling coalition members said they were waiting for remarks about the ...

The EU’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, says in an interview with Die Welt that 2025 is a realistic date when it comes to accession of new members from the Balkans, but only if the criteria are met. “The 2025 date is indicative, but it is rather realistic only if the implementation of reforms is ...

Within the frameworks of his visit to Skopje, Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian National Council, delivered an address in Parliament. As he said, the constitutional changes needed for the name change represent a moment of parliamentarism. “Brave steps are needed,” Sobotka pointed out. According to him, though he understands that the issue isn’t simple for opposition MPs and that ...

At a press-conference on Friday, PM Zoran Zaev said the demands by BESA and Alliance for Albanians regarding constitutional changes caused changes that weren’t of identity and Ohrid Framework Agreement nature. However, he added MPs had a legitimate right to demand that. The PM called for the inclusive process to continue. Zaev hopes that the spring of 2019 will see ...