Latest News from Macedonia
Balkan Summit Urged to Tackle Bilateral Disputes
Civil society groups at the Vienna Balkan summit have given several concrete recommendations for governments on how to resolve bilateral disputes and speed up EU integration.
The set of recommendations was presented to the summit by the European Fund for the Balkans, EFB, and the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group, BiEPAG.
Serbia and Macedonia want EU "to take action"
Serbia and Macedonia have asked the EU take action on the issue of asylum seekers, given that a million euros earmarked for assistance "is not enough."
Troops Sent to Help Patrol Bulgaria-Macedonia Border Only Have Monitoring Functions
The group of 25 troops sent to help Border Police at the Macedonian border only has the right to monitor but not to detain, let alone shoot, according to Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.
Macedonia Scraps Lustration, Keeps Sanctions Against 'Spies'
After criticism from Brussels, Macedonia is to officially end its much-disputed lustration process on January 1, but plans to keep banning anyone declared to be a former secret police collaborators from working in state institutions.
Serbian Minister Criticizes Bulgaria for Sending Troops to Macedonian Border
Serbia's Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Aleksandar Vulin, has criticized Bulgaria's decision to dispatch troops to the Macedonian border in order to curb the number of asylum seekers entering the country.
EU gives EUR 1.5mn in aid for refugees in Serbia, Macedonia
The European Commission is releasing an additional EUR 1.5 million in humanitarian funding to assist refugees and migrants in Serbia and Macedonia.
The EC made the announcement on Wednesday, according to Tanjug.
EU Stumps up Aid for Refugees in Balkans
Ahead of the Western Balkans Summit in Vienna, the European Commission on Wednesday said it was releasing an additional 1.5 million euro in humanitarian funding to assist refugees and migrants in Serbia and Macedonia.
Hungary moves to secure border with more men, dogs, gas
Hungary has outlined plans to send the army, mounted police and dogs to its southern border to confront record numbers of migrants streaming into the European Union, many fleeing war in Syria.
Unrest flared briefly at a crowded reception center in the border region of Roszke, with a police spokesman saying tear gas had been fired.
Bulgaria deploys soldiers to border to counter "apocalypse"
Bulgarian soldiers and armored vehicles have been deployed on Wednesday morning on the country's border crossings with Macedonia and Greece.
Their task is "to prevent a possible spillover of the migrant crisis."
Refugee Crisis to Overshadow Balkan Summit
The refugee crisis threatens to effectively hijack a high-level conference on the economic prospects and European perspectives of the Western Balkan states that opens in Vienna on Thursday.
The summit includes senior politicians from the EU and the Balkans under the patronage of the German and Austrian chancellors, Angela Merkel and Werner Faymann.
UNICEF Sets up Support Area for Migrant Children in Macedonia
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday it has established a child-friendly space with a mobile team near the Macedonian town of Geveglija to provide support to migrant women and children transiting the country.
Macedonia, Serbia Expect New Refugee Wave
A new wave of refugees is expected to reach the refugee reception centre in Presevo in southern Serbia, the Red Cross in Presevo said on Tuesday.
"At the moment, we have about 500 refugees but we have an information that during the day about 2,000 more will arrive," Ahmet Halimi, Secretary of the Red Cross in Presevo, said on Tuesday.
Bulgarian army steps in to buttress Macedonia border
Bulgaria's army stepped in on Aug. 25 to buttress the southwestern border with Macedonia, which has been hit in recent days by an unprecedented influx of migrants.
Twenty-five soldiers and light armored vehicles will be deployed at Bulgaria's four border checkpoints with Macedonia, a defense ministry operations and training deputy chief told public BNR radio.
Bulgaria's Interior Minister Assures Border Controls Are Efficient
Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has insisted that the country's border authorities exercise rigorous oversight.
In a Tuesday interview for the morning broadcast of Nova TV she noted that the refugee crisis was the biggest challenge for Europe since the beginning of the century.
Merkel, Hollande urge unified EU response to refugee crisis
A new wave of migrants began entering the European Union from Serbia on Aug. 24 as the leaders of France and Germany called for a unified response to the continent's biggest migrant crisis since World War II.