Macedonia

The outgoing NATO chief Jaap De Hoop Scheffer is not optimistic about a quick settlement to the name row between Skopje and Athens. “I must add, openly and frankly, that after a visit I paid to Skopje last week, my optimism has not grown, in listening to the authorities in …

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy this Friday to lobby for Paris’s support for his country’s EU aspirations. At the meeting, originally set for Thursday, but delayed due to the Government’s plane malfunction, Gruevski is expected to reiterate that that Macedonia has completed its part …

The EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Wednesday that it is likely that Macedonia gets a date for the start of accession talks this year. “I think this is very likely and it is very possible,” Solana said in Brussels. Solana was meeting with Macedonia’s new president Georgi Ivanov, …

All the computers and the radar of the state plane carrying Premier Nikola Gruevski from Brussels to Paris failed Thursday. The plane landed back safely in Brussels. Gruevski and his delegation are now trying to find an alternate way of getting in to Paris to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, …

Questioned by journalists, Macedonia’s President Georgi Ivanov failed to clarify if Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu was invited to his inauguration ceremony held on Tuesday. “The ceremony was organised by the president of Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, which means that all invitations were sent by him,” Ivanov said in …

The US is urging Macedonia and Greece to put aside unproductive disputes over differing interpretations of history and identity when trying to find a solution to the long-running name dispute between the two countries. “The issue is about the name, that’s why we call it a “name” issue. And Macedonia …

The Austrian power utility company EVN, Wednesday confirmed it has filed a law suit against Macedonia at the Washington based International Arbitrary Court. EVN is suing the state for impeding their work in Macedonia as the main power supplier. The company has not disclosed damages they are demanding. “At a …

On his first day after swearing the oath of office, Macedonia’s new President Georgi Ivanov wrote a letter to his US counterpart reaffirming his commitment to finding a solution to the long standing name row with neighboring Greece. “Let me point out our determination to keep up the dialogue with …

At a parliament ceremony, Tuesday, Georgi Ivanov, took an oath to became Macedonia’s fourth democratically elected head of state in the country’s 18-year history. The ceremony kicked-off at midday with the national anthem, followed by the taking of the oath and the President’s inaugural speech. In that speech, Ivanov stated …

The Students’ Parliament of the State University in Tetovo, DUT, called for an all out Albanian boycott of Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony of Macedonia’s new President Georgi Ivanov. The students appealed to the heads of the ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia, and Albanian President Bamir Topi to boycott the swear-in ceremony …