Macedonia naming dispute

Albania and North Macedonia have "stepped up their work and delivered further tangible and sustainable results in the key areas," since June 2018 the revised European Commission progress reports published on Monday said.

North Macedonia's parliament was dissolved on Sunday, ahead of an early election.

The April 12 election is taking place eight months before the normal expiration of the parliament's four-year term.

North Macedonia's parliament has voted to dismiss Labor Minister Rashela Mizrahi from the caretaker government for appearing during a press conference next to a sign that read "Republic of Macedonia."

Lawmakers in North Macedonia unanimously ratified an agreement Tuesday to make the landlocked country in southern Europe the 30th member of the NATO military alliance.

All 114 lawmakers present in the 120-seat parliament voted in favor of ratification. A NATO flag was raised outside the building during a brief ceremony.

A minister in North Macedonia's technical government, formed to preside over the April elections, has defended her right to challenge the country's landmark agreement with Greece over its name, saying she was only correcting a historic injustice.

On the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to reassure his North Macedonia counterpart Nikola Dimitrov of Greece's commitment to help reboot the Balkan country's stalled bid to join the European Union. 

With NATO accession close at hand, North Macedonia is hard at work making changes to the way its military and intelligence service work.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday essentially offered his support to North Macedonia Premier Zoran Zaev and his country's effort to unstick its stalled bid for European Union accession talks but emphasized that Skopje would have to honor the terms of the Prespes name deal. 

The official brand that will be placed on products from the Greek province of Macedonia - the largest part of the geographic region of Macedonia - was presented today at an event in Thessaloniki attended by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In talks with North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday underlined the importance of the so-called Prespes accord being honored if the Balkan country is to achieve its aim of starting accession talks with the European Union.