North Macedonia

"The latest proposal to lift the Bulgarian veto is nothing but a classic assimilation of the Macedonian people and Macedonian identity". This was said by the leader of the VMRO-DPMNE in the RNM, Hristijan Mickoski, in an interview with Serbian television. Mickoski gave the interview in pure literary Serbian, reported BGNES.

Today, the opponents of the French proposal to start EU membership negotiations for the Republic of Macedonia will organize blockades in several key places in the country, reported a BGNES.

Today, the opponents of the French proposal to start EU membership negotiations for the Republic of Macedonia will organize blockades in several key places in the country, reported a BGNES.

North Macedonian police said they arrested a person who held a handgun and fired shots in the air at Thursday night's protest against the acceptance of a French proposal aimed at unclogging North Macedonia's stalled EU accession talks.

For the fifth night in a row, a protest organized by the VMRO-DPMNE of Hristijan Mickoski and the pro-Russian Left of Dimitar Apasiev took place in Skopje against the French proposal to start negotiations for membership of North Macedonia in the EU, reported BGNES.

Another evening of protests in Skopje against the French proposal to start negotiations for the Republic of North Macedonia for membership in the European Union. Tensions rose after about 30 hooded demonstrators began throwing bombs and hard objects at the parliament building and police officers. 47 police officers were injured and 11 protesters were detained.

The draft proposal France sent to North Macedonia last week to unclog the country's EU accession talks, by removing the Bulgarian blockade over history and identity issues, is to be sent to the parliament, a meeting between the partners in the ruling Social Democrat-led coalition on Sunday decided.

The Speaker of the Parliament of North Macedonia Talat Xhaferi did not put to the vote the proposal of the coordinator of the parliamentary group of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Mitseski, who asked at yesterday's parliamentary session to consider the issue of negotiations with Sofia and the negotiating framework with the EU, BGNES reports.

"Within a few days, the assembly of the first F-16 fighter for Bulgaria in America will begin". This was said to BNT by the new Bulgarian Ambassador to the USA Georgi Panayotov.

"Obviously, the war in Ukraine has sunk into the tracks and will be a long event. The question is what can be done to prevent such tensions from recurring."

This was said to BNR by Ivailo Kalfin, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Foreign and Social Minister and former MEP. He is currently the Executive Director of Eurofound.

Just two days after the ousting of PM Kiril Petkov in a no-confidence vote, Bulgarian legislators on Friday adopted a declaration which would allow their government to potentially lift its veto on starting EU membership talks for neighbouring North Macedonia.