North Macedonia

Greek Parliament speaker Nikos Voutsis on Friday urged Greece and North Macedonia to accelerate the implementation of all provisions included in the name deal signed between the two Balkan neighbors as a way of resolving any reasonable objections to the so-called Prespes accord.

The leaders of both Albania and North Macedonia say they believe that the European Union will decide in June to open membership talks with them.
North Macedonias Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who on Wednesday was in Tirana to meet with his counterpart Edi Rama, said they expect "the EU to take a positive stand on our two countries ... so that we fulfil this strategic goal."

President of the Romanian Senate Calin Popescu-Tariceanu welcomed on Wednesday visiting Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia Talat Xhaferi to emphasise that North Macedonia's joining NATO is a guarantee for its future.

The Romanian Senate, as the decision-making chamber on Wednesday unanimously ratified a bill ratifying a protocol on North Macedonia's accession to NATO, signed in Brussels on February 6, 2019. Attending the vote plenary session was Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia Talat Xhaferi.

North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev confirmed Thursday that his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras is planning to visit Skopje, however adding that no specific date has been set yet.
Speaking at the recent Delphi Economic Forum, Tsipras said that he will "soon" visit Skopje accompanied by a business mission.

At that moment, the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Trade Cooperation between Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia begins in Skopje. Among the topics discussed are transport and energy connectivity and economic relations.

Newly renamed North Macedonia's government says 136 state-funded institutions will adjust their names in the next four months under a historic deal the country struck with neighboring Greece last year.

The government has approved a draft contract between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Northern Macedonia for the organization of a joint exhibition "100 years Trebenishte", which will take place in Skopje.

Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner responsible for relations with countries that aspire to join the bloc," has expressed the hope that the recent name deal between Greece and North Macedonia, could have a "domino effect" in the Balkan peninsula.

The Macedonian government has decided to oblige all institutions to change their public names in the name of the state, in line with amendments to the Constitution, the Constitutional Law on the Implementation of Amendments and the Law on the Use of Languages, reported the Bulgarian National Television.