“Transparency Macedonia” launched a project on “Monitoring the Work, Effectiveness, Transparency and Accountability of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption”, which is to be implemented in partnership with the Institute for Human Rights, and with the support of the British Embassy in Skopje. President of the Institute for Human Rights Margarita Caca Nikolovska noted […]
Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said that Turkey will ratify North Macedonia’s NATO Accession Protocol within a month at the latest. “As Turkey’s Parliament Speaker, I sent the protocol to the Foreign Affairs Committee, where a discussion is underway. The Committee’s agenda is tight, but I spoke to the Chairman of the Committee asking him […]
Camps of refugees from Middle East in North Macedonia seem empty, but authorities and humanitarian organizations raise the alarm about the increase in the number of refugees coming into the country. In April, these refugee centers welcomed 22 people, while in May these centers welcomed 19 people. Meanwhile, the number of refugees crossing the border […]
Finland’s third EU Presidency period begins on 1 July 2019. The presidency of the Council rotates in an established order among the EU Member States every six months. The Council of the European Union, i.e. the Council of Ministers, is where the governments of the EU Member States are represented by government ministers of the […]
“Many German citizens have personal relations with people from the Western Balkans, many people from the Western Balkans live in Germany and represent a bridge between the countries. The people of these countries are our neighbors and their perspective is to join the EU while meeting all criteria,” Chancellor Merkel told Sunday’s video-podcast regarding this […]
Polling stations have opened in Albania as voters elect their municipal representatives. These elections are held at a time when the opposition has boycotted them, while the president of the country has issued a decree revoking the elections and setting a new date for them. However, the government has insisted that these elections be held […]
North Macedonia held its first Pride parade on the streets of the country’s capital Skopje on Saturday. The parade was attended by supporters from North Macedonia and abroad, and was covered by domestic and global media. “We are far from full respect of the LGBTI community, but this is an important step in the right […]
Luxembourg, Iceland, the UK, Spain, the U.S., Italy, the Netherlands, France and Turkey are the countries that are left to ratify North Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi told reporters on Friday. He expects ratification procedures to be wrapped up by autumn. In the UK Parliament, Xhaferi said, the procedure doesn’t involve a […]
Eleven people were charged with abuse of office and misconduct, according to MoI’s initial information on a police operation conducted Friday morning at several locations in Skopje. Among those charged is former Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski and co-workers, two notaries, and one person from the Cadastre Agency. The Primary Public Prosecutor’s Office […]
An unusual morning scene in the Budapest Court. Former Prime Minister Gruevski with his trademark sunglasses Maybach and a baseball hat, as if he was on a beach in Tel Aviv, entered the courtroom, accompanied by police officers in civilian attire, where they decided on the request of the North Macedonian authorities for his extradition. […]
In its report on corruption prevention in respect of top executive functions and law enforcement agencies in North Macedonia, Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls on the Government to increase transparency of its work and to de-politicise the country’s police force. Expressing particular concern at the lack of transparency in respect […]
Fugitive former PM Nikola Gruevski posted on Facebook after he was arrested this morning and questioned by a Hungarian court over the extradition request by the North Macedonian government. “Today, a standard procedure was carried out in the institutions in Hungary after the criminal and racketeering government in Macedonia filed an extradition request. The court […]
Goce Delchev, who is considered to be a national hero in both Bulgaria and North Macedonia, has cast doubts on the agreement for good neighbouring relations achieved between Sofia and Skopje a year ago. Experts from both countries are discussing as to whom belongs this historical figure in an attempt to settle all disputes that […]
MPs in North Macedonia are debating today on the recent cabinet reshuffle, which consists on the appointment of six new ministers. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said that the government is expected to focus more on the economy and the improvement of living standards. Zaev said that the government will increase salaries and pensions. “Foreign investments […]
Hungary decided not to extradite former Prime Minister, now fugitive, Nikola Gruevski, according to a Budapest court ruling on Thursday. The court said extradition requirements were not met and refused to fulfill the Ministry of Justice’s request for Gruevski’s extradition to North Macedonia. Earlier today, Hungarian media published courtroom photos and video of Gruevski wearing […]
A few minutes after the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption ( SCPS) sent a decree to the Assembly that the prime minister cannot be the finance minister at the same time, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev took the floor at the legislature and announced that he was withdrawing from the ministerial post. “I gave […]
I expect Bulgaria and North Macedonia to maintain good-neighborly relations, said Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the Plovdiv Economic Forum on Wednesday. PM Borissov expressed hope that the coming meeting of the Berlin Process in Poznan will take a decision that North Macedonia and Bulgaria jointly host the next summit. “We have been at […]
Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Soreide and FM Nikola Dimitrov discussed bilateral cooperation, regional development, and North Macedonia’s accession to NATO and the EU, the ministers told a press conference Wednesday. Norway doubled its support to the Western Balkans in the past two years, according to Minister Eriksen Soreide, to focus on projects […]
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev has withdrawn his proposal to act as finance minister. “The Constitution and the law do actually permit the prime minister to hold the minister post, but given the debates that this issue has sparked, we need to hear the state commission for the prevention of corruption, the opposition […]
German government spokesman Stefan Zibert in a statement for Nezavisen Vesnik/ Independent Daily newspaper said that Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel will do everything in her power to make the Bundestag make the “right decision” over the European Commission’s recommendation to start accession negotiations with North Macedonia, but that he cannot specify which week or month […]
