Macedonia

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission arrives at Skopje on Thursday, Macedonian media informed. IMF’s experts will make analyses all macroeconomic indexes to work out a recommendation report to the Macedonian government. According to Macedonian Financial Ministry it is a regular visit of IMF mission to Skopje.

People celebrated on the streets of Skopje as news came through Wednesday that the European Commission, EC, had recommended that Macedonia begin EU accession talks. Some paraded in cars through the streets of the capital honking and waving the Macedonian and EU flags. Others gathered in front of the government …

Macedonian Defense Minister Zoran Konjanovski and his Spanish counterpart Carme Chacon Piqueras signed today in Skopje a Memorandum for cooperation in the defense field. The memorandum affirms the commitment for mutual understanding, information exchange and increasing of volume of bilateral cooperation between the two ministries.