The Deputy Spokesperson of NATO Piers Cazalet stated that the West Balkans, including Macedonia, face a serious problem with disinformation, and the phenomenon known in present day as ‘fake news’. “Western Balkans is affected by the problem of disinformation, which is evident through the example in Macedonia, where a lot of disinformation was spread ahead of the referendum on the ...

The required parliamentary majority is in place for ratification of the Prespa Agreement but also for a government confidence vote, says SYRIZA secretary and former minister Panos Skourletis. In an interview with Greek TV station Alpha, Skourletis explains that the Prespa Agreement and the government’s survival are two issues that are not mutually related. “Everything points to the fact there ...

Regardless of the accusations by American officials blaming Russia, Moscow did not interfere in the internal affairs of Macedonia, it was Washington who did, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. According to her, Moscow is still being accused of meddling in Macedonia’s internal affairs. She called Matthew Palmer’s remarks in Skopje about Russia’s involvement ‘ridiculous’. We, she pointed ...

Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar at Wednesday’s joint press conference with FM Nikola Dimitrov said that he is aware that the consultative referendum did not meet the fundamental legal requirements to be valid, however Slovenia considers that the result brought convincing message to continue the political processes for EU integration, i.e. for joining NATO.  We consider that the process happening ...

VMRO-DPMNE’s Central Committee does not recognise the referendum result, assessing it as fabrication wherefore on Friday the party will lodge criminal charges with the Prosecutor’s Office against 200 people, presidents, deputies and members of election boards in Struga, Centar Zhupa, Kicevo, Zhelino, Bogovinje, Plasnica and Saraj. As the vice president of the party Aleksandar Nikolovski stated following the session, VMRO-DPMNE ...

Macedonia will keep implementing the reforms, not only to meet the EU membership criteria but first and foremost for the benefit of its citizens, Justice Minister Renata Deskoska told Thursday the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs in Tirana. The reforms are being implemented under the national judicial reform strategy 2018-2025, which should strengthen the independence and ...

The low turnout in the referendum may be a result of boycott, indifference or poorly defined question and it’s up to Macedonia to come to a conclusion on the matter, Czech President Milos Zeman said Thursday in Prague at a joint press conference with his Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov. It’s a fact, Ivanov said, that the referendum in Macedonia was ...

The State Election Commission (SEC) has confirmed that total 666,743 citizens voted at the referendum which accounts for 36.91 % of the registered voters. The institution that organized the referendum noted that all records had been processed and the referendum question was affirmatively answered by 609,813 voters – 91.46 %, whereas 37,700 voters – 5.65 % were against. 19,221 votes, ...

Although the legal framework did not sufficiently cover all aspects of the process, the 30 September referendum in Macedonia was administered impartially and fundamental freedoms were respected, the international observers concluded on Monday. The absence of an organized ‘Against’ or boycott campaign meant the media struggled to provide balanced coverage, although they did convey extensive information and a diverse range ...

In a matter of few days, we shall know whether there will be an ambiance for reaching an agreement with the opposition for a two-thirds majority that is necessary to vote for the constitutional changes in the Parliament that are a result of the Agreement with Greece.  This was stressed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in a statement at the ...