Macedonia

For the twelve consecutive months, Macedonia’s industrial output has been in decline, largely due to the world financial crisis.Macedonia’s industrial output in August was down 8.1 per cent compared to August 2011, shows the latest data from the State Statistical Office.

At a session on Friday, the Macedonian government led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski faces a no-confidence vote put forward by the opposition.The outcome of the vote is uncertain, as the junior ruling Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, refused to say clearly before the session whether it …

Unconfirmed reports of the murder of a young ethnic Macedonian in Greece have raised tensions in Macedonia.The Macedonian government has called for restraint and condemned “all attempts to manipulate this sensitive and serious issue,” following unconfirmed reports in Macedonia’s media that a young ethnic Macedonian has been killed in Greece.

Six years since the adoption of a Public Information Access Law, Macedonians still have trouble obtaining official information, the Foundation Open Society – Macedonia says.Macedonia’s information law is good in theory, but poor implementation means it is of little practical use, Open Society Macedonia said in its latest analysis. Its …

MPs who also own TV and radio stations have until the end of the month to choose between keeping their political careers or their media outlets.Boris Stojmenov, MP and head of the small VMRO-Macedonian party, which is part of Nikola Gruevski’s government, has until September 30 to decide whether to …

The Greek and Macedonian Foreign Ministers, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Nikola Poposki, met in New York on Monday – but no substantive talks on the “name” dispute took place at the introductory meeting.The two ministers met for an unofficial conversation at Macedonia’s request at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly …

The Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers, Dimitris Avramopoulos and Nikola Poposki, are to meet next Thursday in New York in an attempt to invigorate stalled ‘name’ talks.The two ministers will meet at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Greece is expected to urge more active UN involvement in …

After a court in Skopje upheld the request of the Health Ministry to ban an announced strike by doctors, medics said they would appeal and set a new date for a stoppage.Doctors said they are not discouraged by the ruling, which was delivered in an express procedure, and will appeal …

Macedonia is pushing ahead with a controversial law that puts the Foreign Ministry directly in charge of accrediting foreign journalists.After the government this week submitted a draft law on Foreign Press Materials, Foreign Movies and Foreign Information Activity to parliament, a debate is expected to start next week. According to …

Macedonia has undertaken significant reforms this year as part of its EU accession agenda and can expect a positive progress report, says European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule.Fule praised the pace of progress in Macedonia after speaking on Monday with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the Vice Prime Minister in charge …