Miloš Zeman, a leading pro-Russian voice in EU politics, has been sworn in for his second term as Czech president. Zeman was elected to the largely ceremonial post in 2013 during the country’s first direct presidential vote, a victory that returned the former left-leaning prime minister to power. He won re-election in January. In office, […]
The commissioner general of the Belgian Federal Police has been appointed as the new executive director of European Union law enforcement agency Europol. Catherine De Bolle was appointed Thursday, which is International Women’s Day, by the European Council. She replaces Briton Rob Wainwright, whose term at the head of Europol expires May 1. With a […]
Border police in Macedonia have arrested three Albanian nationals in possession of 40 kg of marijuana, as they were trying to smuggle the drugs into Greece. According to police, the three Albanians, the identity of whom has not been made public, were caught near the village of Lazec. “The drugs were found in two large bags […]
The best way to reach a solution in the Macedonian issue is to finish the 1995 Interim Accord with an international agreement with a bold force, according to European Parliament vice-president and head of the SYRIZA group, Dimitris Papadimoulis. In a statement on radio 247, he mentions the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 between Greece and Turkey, as an example. […]
The perspectives for seriously resolving the name dispute are rapidly decreasing, Greece’s former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis said, in an interview with the Real Fm radio station, the Greek government had a real chance to solve the problem, but with the way it operated the issue, now leads to an impasse. – I want to […]
It is certain that the constitutional name should be changed in order for the erga omnes condition to be valid, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said in a television debate on the Greek state television ERT. – For the complex name erga omnes, for overall use, in any case, a precondition is a constitutional review, […]
In three chapters, according to the Greek “Kathimerini”, the agreement between Skopje and Athens was reached on the name, scope and acronyms. The newspaper comments that the negotiations are turning into an unsolvable puzzle despite the initial increased optimism from Athens. The Greek government, as Kathimerini writes, now faces the opposition New Democracy, which seeks […]
“We are Macedonia: a new protest in Skopje”, “No to contacts with Athens, thousands of protesters in Skopje said”, “FYROM: Gathering in Skopje Against Changing the Name of the Country”, “New Protest for the Name Macedonia”, ” in Skopje against the change of the name “,” A big protest in Skopje with the slogan: We […]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed the coalition deal and says “it’s important that we start quickly with our work”. Ms Merkel was speaking a day after the centre-left Social Democrats voted overwhelmingly to remain in a coalition with her conservative bloc, giving the chancellor the support needed to preserve her governing coalition and secure […]
In Italy, parliamentary elections are being held today, which could restore renowned political names, such as Silvio Berlusconi or Matteo Renzi, or bring new uncertainty. Berlusconi, 81, returned to politics and led his party to the right-wing center Forza italia (Forward Italy). He is in a coalition with the leader of the right-wing and Eurosceptic […]
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, after returning from the Western Balkans tour, told EuroNews that the European Union is not putting pressure on Macedonia and Greece to resolve the name dispute. – Pressure is not an instrument we should use. We encourage Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to find a solution themselves […]
The United States is interested in the success of the diplomatic activities between Skopje and Athens to resolve the name issue. This is the attitude of the US ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, at the Economic Forum in Delphi, Greece, where former Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis was very skeptical. She said she is afraid […]
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after his visit to Skopje, Tirana, Sarajevo, Podgorica and Pristina that he had not promised a date for joining the European Union. He added that he did not promise dates for the start of pre-accession negotiations and that the quality was more important than speed for him. – The […]
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced the composition of Greece’s new government, following a cabinet reshuffle carried out by the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras did not opt for a sweeping change of the government scheme, but made only a “corrective” reshuffle of his cabinet. Analysts wide expected more “corrections” to be […]
Parliament of Kosovo has once again adjourned the voting of the bill for the ratification of the demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The adjournment came once again as a result of the lack of the number of votes needed for the ratification of the agreement, although yesterday, the heads of the governing coalition had declared that […]
If there is mood in the current government in Skopje, we should use that, said former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in a conversation with Greek journalists following parliamentary hearings, the online edition of the newspaper To Vima reported. According to the Greek news agency ANA-MPA, he emphasized that the solution will certainly include the […]
Slovak Culture Minister Marek Madaric resigned today after the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak. Madaric, who is a member of the Smer-Social Democracy Party, told Prime Minister Robert Fico that this is his personal decision. “As the culture minister, I am not able to cope with the fact that a journalist was killed during my […]
Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, spokesman of the Greek government, said Tuesday that Greece’s stance and preconditions were clear, while the neighboring country was the one that needed to demonstrate willingness for an agreement, otherwise there would be no solution. “We have said what the preconditions are to reach an agreement. Thus, if our neighbors are willing to […]
Greek opposition party New Democracy says the name dispute should be a package solution, not a partial one. MP and former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis has also criticized the Greek government over the way it is conducting the negotiations, MIA reports from Athens. “The Tsipras government has launched the negotiations without knowing the aim. We […]
Greece’s Economy and Development Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou has resigned, an aide said on Tuesday, after his wife, a deputy labour minister, quit in a housing allowance row on Monday, Reuters reports. Papadimitriou, whose remit involved promoting Greece abroad for investment projects, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday night, an economy ministry official told Reuters. “He […]
