Macedonia

The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia signed the bilateral protocol to Art. 12 of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation.

The document will form part of Skopje's negotiating framework for EU membership and contains measures for the history, hate speech and culture curricula.

With 68 votes "in favor" and none "against" and in the absence of MPs from the main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE and the small "Levitsa" formation, the parliament adopted draft conclusions, with which the cabinet is given direction on what it can and cannot negotiates in the European integration process.

(Un)prepared

North Macedonia's Air Tractor firefighting plane. Photo by Zvonko Plavevski

High summer temperatures in South-East Europe traditionally go hand in hand with forest fires in the region. Last summer, as in many previous years, different corners of the region were devastated by drought and wildfires.

North Macedonia must take a step forward towards the European Union, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Macedonian parliament ahead of a meeting where lawmakers are debating the so-called "French proposal" to start EU negotiations.

Von der Leyen concluded her address to the Macedonian MPs with a quote from the late President Boris Trajkovski:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria sent a note today to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia due to "numerous manifestations and slogans directed against Bulgaria".

The Central Council of the ruling Social Democratic Union /SDSM/ in the Republic of North Macedonia unanimously supported the French proposal to start negotiations for the country's EU membership.

The first part of the monograph "Bulgaria and Macedonia. History and Politics", which refutes the lies of Macedonian historians, has already been published in English, BGNES reported.

The European Union's treats Western Balkans states as a wicked stepmother. While this has not significantly changed even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it did trigger a fundamental debate on whether the EU wants at all to admit the remaining six Western Balkan countries (Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo) to full-fledged membership.

The rallies against acceptance of the French proposal for lifting Bulgaria's blockade on North Macedonia's EU talks draw on discontent felt across the political spectrum.

"If North Macedonia does not accept the French proposal, Albania will continue alone on the path to European integration. I think that is only right, but I hope that this will not be necessary", said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after his meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama yesterday.