Macedonia Parties Trade Blame Over Deadly Smog

As air pollution in capital, Skopje, and other towns remains at an alarming level, prompting fresh calls from environmentalists for action, the ruling VMRO DPMNE party has tried to shift the blame for the deadly smog to local authorities run by the opposition.

The opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, have meanwhile demanded a more thorough approach to curb air pollution, accusing the ruling VMRO DPMNE of doing nothing in the past ten years to address this issue.

"The new responsible Macedonian government will seriously approach this problem at its first session," the SDSM said in a press release, adding that should it form the new government, for which unofficial negotiations with other parties are underway, it has a set of concrete measures in mind.

These include free public transport to get people out of their cars and stopping all construction activities in towns over winter.

"We will also increase the legally required level of greenery in towns, provide subsidies and favourable credits so companies can install modern filters, gasify [provide natural gas] for 32 towns in Macedonia following the example of [opposition run] Kumanovo and Strumica and facilitate the adoption of solar energy in households," the SDSM said.

For several years, air pollution levels in Skopje and in the towns of Bitola, Kicevo, Tetovo Kumanovo and Kavadarci have reached record highs in the winter months.

Particularly problematic is the high level of deadly PM10 particles, small breathable specks that are considered one of the worst air polluters. Due to their small size they can penetrate the lungs and are known to cause cancers and other diseases.

During winter, they occasionally reach 360 index points. According to European...