Eurasia Press & News
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 …
Read More »Macedonian Media Moguls in Politics Face Deadline
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 …
Read More »Macedonian, Greek Ministers Meet in New York
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 …
Read More »Greece-Macedonia ‘Name’ Meeting Announced
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 …
Read More »Macedonia Doctors Defiant as Court Bans Strike
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 …
Read More »Macedonia Tightens Rules on Foreign Media
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 …
Read More »Positive EU Report Awaits Macedonia, Fule Says
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 …
Read More »New Macedonian TV Station Revives Dissident Spirit
A new TV station, A3, will try to revive the spirit of the once prominent national station, A1 TV, which was shut down last year by the authorities.The new station’s editor-in-chief, Aco Kabranov, said he intended to bring back the old A1 team of journalists. “We will bring back 80 …
Read More »Macedonian Army Law Reveals Ethnic Split Among MPs
A debate in parliament over a controversial law on armed forces exposed predictable divisions between ethnic Macedonians who support it and Albanians who oppose it.The law, put forward by the main ruling VMRO DPMNE party, concerns the rights of members of the Macedonian armed forces who fought in the 2001 …
Read More »Macedonian Lustration Again Disputed Before Court
Macedonia’s new Lustration Law, aimed at rooting out former police collaborators, may encounter the fate as the previous one, as key provisions are again contested before the Constitutional Court.Macedonia’s Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and a retired lawyer, Stamen Filipov – in two separate motions filed to the court on …
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