Latest News from Macedonia

Illegal migrants abused in Macedonia - reports

Human rights organizations are saying that Macedonia is "one of the worst countries in Europe for migrants," BBC reported.

According to Doctors Without Borders, at least 300 persons died on their way from Greece to Macedonia, in a bid to reach Northern and Western Europe.

Anti-Gruevski Protests Resume in Macedonia

An umbrella movement called "Protestiram" ["I protest"] renewed daily protest marches on Friday, one month after the police crackdown on protesters in front of the government building.

On May 5, riot police used force to disperse an anti-government protest that saw thousands of people demanding Prime Minister's Gruevski's immediate resignation.

Athens, Skopje to work on improving trust

A Greek Foreign Ministry official will travel to Skopje in the next few days to discuss confidence-building measures with the government in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias revealed on Thursday.

Turkey welcomes Macedonia's early election decision

Turkey June 4 welcomed Macedonia?s decision to hold elections in order to contain a political crisis enveloping the country.

Political leaders in the former Yugoslav republic announced June 2 a fresh election in April 2016 to resolve a crisis sparked by a wiretapping scandal that has allegedly revealed high-level government corruption.

Macedonia's Gruevski Vows to Win Early Elections

Prime Minister Gruevski said that at Tuesday's marathon talks in Skopje mediated by EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, he accepted snap polls in order "to end the agony in which the opposition has put Macedonia".

Athens said to be concerned over exclusion from TurkStream pipeline

As a spokesman for the TurkStream pipeline said Wednesday that construction of the Gazprom-backed project will start by the end of the month, diplomatic sources in Athens suggested the Greek government was concerned that Moscow was mulling alternative routes which could potentially exclude Greece from the plans.

EU Calls on Macedonia Leaders to Stick to Commitments

The European Commission has called on Macedonian politicians to hold on to the promises made during talks with EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Tuesday.

A meeting resulted in an agreement that snap elections should take place by end-April 2016, according to Hahn.

Early elections for FYROM amid corruption claims (videos)

Political leaders in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) agreed to hold elections in early 2016. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that the decision to conduct elections by the end of April was a result of the deep political crisis in the country.

Macedonia Snap Vote Reportedly Tied to Agreement on Transitional Government

No early elections will be held in Macedonia by end-April 2016 if there is no agreement on a transitional government by June 10, the country's Nova TV channel revealed on Tuesday.

Macedonian Political Leaders Agree to Hold Early Election by End-April 2016, Hahn Says

Macedonian political leaders have agreed that early parliamentary elections should be held by the end of April next year, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said on Tuesday.

Hahn Brokers Snap Election Deal in Macedonia

After almost nine hours of talks with Macedonia's warring leaders in Skopje, Commissioner Hahn on Tuesday said he had extracted an agreement on a transition period leading up to snap elections that must take place by next April.

Fresh Round of Crisis Talks Begins in Macedonia

Hahn is to meet Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and opposition leader Zoran Zaev in Skopje on Tuesday and demand that they find an urgent solution to the ongoing crisis sparked by the opposition's revelation of massive illegal surveillance, EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic told media.