Macedonia

Name agreement can’t be reached due to blockades and embargo: Nikola Gruevski

It couldn’t be reached an agreement on the name issue due to blockades and embargo contrariwise – this would intensify the problem and cause damages to the both sides. This is what Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said today during celebrations of the day of Macedonian revolutionary fight.

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Macedonia, Bulgaria need to step up cooperation on Corridor 8

Macedonia and Bulgaria need to step up the cooperation in the construction of Corridor 8 given its significance as regional corridor, the two countries’ officials said. According to Macedonian Parliament’s press service, Macedonian parliament president Trajko Veljanovski and his Bulgarian counterpart Cecka Cacheva met on the

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Border Deal Faces Legal Challenge

Macedonia’s border agreement with Kosovo is a classic example of an exchange of territories made in murky conditions and outside the law, Macedonia’s opposition parties allege. The neighbouring states announced on Sunday that they had closed their long-standing border issue. Macedonia’s parliament ratified the agreement on Saturday with a simple …

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Macedonia’s Opposition Urges Name Settlement

The opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, would back any government compromise in the Athens-Skopje name row that guarantees that the language and nation would remain unchanged and referred to as Macedonian. “Whatever is acceptable to you will be acceptable to us.” SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski told Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at …

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Macedonia: Naming the Future

Standing at the door of the EU and NATO clubs, Macedonia’s reception largely depends on one thing: compromise over the long-running name dispute with neighboring Greece. Meanwhile, regional stability hangs in the balance, Anes Alic writes for ISN Security Watch. The 14 October report by the European Commission recommended opening …

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Macedonia, Kosovo Establish Diplomatic Ties

Macedonia and Kosovo have established full diplomatic ties by deciding to exchange ambassadors, both countries’ foreign ministries confirmed in Sunday press releases. The US and EU have praised the move, while Serbia, which strongly opposes Kosovo’s independence declaration, protested. The agreement was inked by Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and …

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Macedonian PM hopes for date of negotiations with EU

Macedonian prime minister hopes that Macedonian would receive a date for start of negotiations for membership in the European Union, now that the European Commission issued a recommendation for launch of the accession talks. In the letter sent to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, PM Nikola …

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Ambassadors Press Skopje On Name Dispute

The settlement of the Athens-Skopje name row is not an official precondition for Macedonia’s EU accession talks but will create a better climate for the same, ambassadors say. This according to the Swedish and EU ambassadors to Macedonia, Lars Freden and Erwan Fouere. Sweden currently holds the EU presidency.

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Bishop Sentenced for Embezzlement

A  renegade former Macdedonian Orthodox Church, MPC, bishop, Jovan Vraniskovski, has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail for embezzlement by a Macedonian court. A court in the town of Veles found Vraniskowski guilty of embezzling 320,000 euros while in charge of three Macedonian dioceses. He was …

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Macedonia’s president visits Turkey

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov is paying an official visit to Turkey, media reported. Ivanov will meet today in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ivanov today will lay a wreath at the mausoleum of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

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