Macedonian constitutional referendum

The Council of Europe's anti-corruption group says the performance of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on preventing corruption is "clearly disappointing," and is calling on authorities to take action.

According to an opinion poll carried out by the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 41.5 percent of FYROM's population plans to vote "yes" in the September 30 referendum on the agreement with Greece which sees the country's name changing to North Macedonia.

A coalition of 28 small right-wing political parties, political factions, civic associations and NGOs are backing a campaign dubbed 'Macedonia Boycotts', whose aim is to foil September's referendum on the historic 'name' agreement with Greece, which is key for Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic path.

Macedonia's parliament on Monday set September 30 as the date for a referendum on changing the country's name to the Republic of North Macedonia, a high-stakes vote aimed at resolving a long-running row with Greece and clearing the path to join NATO and the EU.

Sixty-seven of the 120 MPs in Macedonia's parliament voted in favour of the holding a referendum on the country's agreement with Greece on September 30 which - if successful - will hopefully expedite Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Lawmakers in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will vote on a government's proposal setting down details for a referendum over a deal with neighboring Greece to change the country's name to Republic of North Macedonia.

A formal call for a referendum in Macedonia, backed by the MPs from the ruling majority, but also possibly by some opposition MPs, is to be formally handed on Monday to the speaker of parliament, Talat Xhaferi, who is expected to put it to vote at a plenary session.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he hoped parliament would adopt a formal decision supporting the referendum on the country's deal with Greece by Monday - which he added would then be staged with or without the support of the main opposition VMRO DPMNE party.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with his Bosnian counterpart Denis Zvizdic in Mostar on Monday to receive an award for his contribution to maintaining peace in the Balkans thanks to the recent name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) but he was forced to return to Athens before the ceremony. 

Macedonia's main opposition VMRO DPMNE party has agreed to stop blocking the appointments of members of the State Electoral Commission, DIK, in exchange for a provision guaranteeing the formation of a technical government 100 days ahead of any future elections, to ensure their fairness and regularity.