Macedonia

SKOPJE, Macedonia Dozens of earthquakes shook the southeast on Sunday (May 24th). The strongest measured 5.4 on the Richter scale at around 6 pm local time in the Valandovo region near the border with Greece. Seismologists counted more than 70 quakes throughout the day, which caused public panic and damaged …

Fearful locals in the southeast Macedonia slept out under open skies on Sunday night after over 180 earthquakes hit the region over the weekend. The strongest tremor hit at 6.15pm on Sunday, measuring 5.4 at the Richter scale. It was felt across the country and in the capital, Skopje. Smaller …

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia President Danilo Turk met with visiting Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov on Monday (May 18th) and assured him that Slovenia will continue to support Skopje’s bid to join the EU and NATO.

Macedonia is well on the way to being granted a full visa liberalisation for travel to the EU, local media said Wednesday citing an unnamed diplomatic source. The European Commission’s assessment of whether the countries in the Western Balkans have fulfilled the requirements for the abolition of the visa regime …

The UN mediator in the Athens-Skopje name row, Matthew Nimetz will probably visit both countries by June-end in a renewed effort to find a solution to the on-going spat, Greek media say. Nimetz has not confirmed the reports. Wednesday’s edition of Greek daily “To Vima” says that Nimetz will only …

The leader of the ruling ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia has called on the government to focus on efforts to find a solution to the ongoing name row with Greece. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration, on Sunday also warned the government against stirring up tensions between …

France supports the lifting of EU visas for Macedonian citizens, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Macedonian Premier Nikola Gruevski Friday in Paris. Macedonian media media cited Sarkozy as saying that France would unambiguously support any European Commission’s recommendation for lifting the visa regime for Macedonian citizens.

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, …