VMRO DPMNE

The VMRO DPMNE opposition party launched a campaign for a referendum against the 2017 Skopje-Sofia friendship treaty, which it claims is fuelling Bulgaria's push for concessions from North Macedonia in return for unblocking its path towards the EU.

The leader of North Macedona's main opposition party, VMRO DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, joined the celebrations marking Viktor Orban's victory in Sunday's Hungarian elections at Orban's Fidesz party HQ in Budapest.

The right-wing VMRO DPMNE opposition party cannot sell or rent its lavish 'white palace' HQ in central Skopje, nor many of its other real-estate assets across the country, until the end of the major money-laundering case codenamed 'Talir', the Special Prosecution, SJO told BIRN on Thursday.

Skopje Criminal Court issued this ruling on Wednesday, the sources said.

At an extraordinary session of its central committee on Monday night, VMRO DPMNE purged several high-profile members, requested resignations from renegade MPs who supported the 'name' agreement with Greece at last week's parliamentary vote and threatened to oust other MPs if they support the agreement in the future.

Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced he will forge ahead with his bid to pass the 'name' agreement with Greece through parliament, despite his "yes" campaign failing to draw enough voters to pass the turnout threshold required to make Sunday's historic referendum legally valid.

The Macedonian prosecution team tasked with investigating high-level crime has confirmed it intends to challenge the Skopje Criminal Court decision not to freeze the assets of the former ruling party VMRO DPMNE before the Supreme Court.

Police moved in to restore order late Thursday after protesters supporting the former ruling VMRO DPMNE party stormed parliament, injuring at least four MPs.

The protesters forced their way in to the legislature after the former opposition led by the Social Democrats, SDSM, elected a parliamentary speaker in a bid to form a government.

Violence erupted inside Macedonia's parliament on Thursday as protesters supporting the former ruling VMRO DPMNE party stormed the building, angry over the election of new parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi by the former opposition.

Observers say the VMRO DPMNE's stalling tactics, which involve the party's MPs making long speeches and holding discussions amongst themselves in order to prevent a vote on a new parliamentary speaker for as long as possible, are set to continue on Wednesday - and could drag out the process for weeks or possibly months.

Amid heightened tensions in Macedonia, Commissioner Johannes Hahn who will be accompanied by MEPs Ivo Vajgl, Eduard Kukan and Knut Fleckenstein is expected to press for the formation of the new opposition-led coalition government in Macedonia as the only way out of the country's deep political crisis.