Macedonia

Macedonia’s budget needs to be urgently revised as the country spends more than it receives, the International Monetary Fund’s representative to the country, Bert Van Selm, said in the local media. He said this year’s first trimester shows a forecasted 13 per cent growth in revenue, on which the budget …

SKOPJE, Macedonia – Sunday’s second round of presidential and local elections went in accordance with “most international standards”, the OSCE said in a statement Monday (April 6th). We were pleased to see a peaceful environment and a well-administered Election Day, although some aspects of the campaign period seriously detracted from …

The Skopje court Monday afternoon sentenced the former Macedonian Vice Premier and former leader of the Democratic Alternative party, Vasil Tupurkovski to three years in prison for embezzlement. In the infamous “Taiwan Loans” case, Tupurkovski and one other person were charged for the misuse of funds. The money is question …

European Union, NATO and United States’ top officials are praising the recent peaceful and democratically run Macedonian elections. The presidential and municipal poll on Sunday, which cemented the power of the ruling conservative VMRO DPMNE party was seen as a test of the country’s democratic credentials. The vote was closely …

SKOPJE, Macedonia – Xhevat Ademi, deputy leader of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), criticised on Saturday (April 4th) Macedonia’s “lack of willingness” to reach an agreement with Greece in the long-standing name dispute.

The low turnout of ethnic Albanians in Sunday’s presidential election was because they felt neglected by the two presidential frontrunners, who are ethnic Macedonians, according to local analysts. The poll barely succeeded with a turnout of 42 per cent, only slightly above the required 40 per cent threshold. This was …

Macedonia’s lack of willingness to reach a deal with Greece over its name will not only keep it away from NATO and the EU, but also increase its isolation and poverty, ethnic Albanian leaders said. European Union and NATO member Greece imposed a veto on Macedonia’s NATO entry a year …

George Ivanov, the conservative candidate of the ruling right from centre VMRO DPMNE party won Sunday’s presidential elections the State Election Commission data show. This election”opens the European perspective for Macedonia” Ivanov said. He noted his priorities would be EU and NATO membership and solving the long standing name dispute …

The election campaign for the second round of joint presidential and mayoral elections in Macedonia, seen as crucial for the country’s democratic image, ends at midnight on Friday. Following the pre-election pause, Macedonia is set to elect its next president in a run-off election on Sunday. Voters will choose between …

The European Commission has decided to redefine the terms “Macedonian”, “Macedonians” and country code “MK” in its institutional style guide, Erik Meijer, European Parliament Rapporteur for Macedonia, suspects. According to information obtained by Eric Meijer, these terms now in common use are to be replaced with the designation “to be …