VMRO-DPMNE

The leader of the main opposition party in North Macedonia has said that if elected prime minister, he would refer to the country solely as "Macedonia," regardless of the 2018 Prespes Agreement that settled the dispute with Greece over the country's name.

Amidst the political fervor preceding the upcoming parliamentary elections in North Macedonia on May 8, VMRO-DPMNE, the main opposition party, has proposed a postponement of constitutional changes regarding the inclusion of Bulgarians. The announcement came from Timco Mucunski, deputy chairman of VMRO-DPMNE, during the presentation of the party's program for the impending elections.

Political statements originating from Skopje regarding the potential integration of Macedonians into the Bulgarian constitution have ignited a diplomatic dispute between Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

BUCHAREST - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic attended on Wednesday a European People's Party (EPP) congress in Bucharest, where she also held several important meetings.

Before the congress, Brnabic had a cordial encounter with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

North Macedonia 's parliament speaker on Wednesday formally set early parliamentary and presidential elections in the spring as the country makes a bid to join the European Union.

Following opposition pressure, North Macedonia's main political parties agreed in December to organize general elections on May 8, two months early. A caretaker government was appointed last month.

President Stevo Pendarovski of North Macedonia has provided a comprehensive assessment of the political dynamics surrounding the crucial issue of constitutional changes in the country.

North Macedonia's parliament on Sunday approved a caretaker government with a mandate to organize a general election in May.

The government of the small Balkan country of 1.8 million people will be headed by the country's first-ever ethnic Albanian prime minister, current parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi, 61.

"I am not afraid to say that the Macedonians are our closest people, we have no closer people. And I clearly want to say that we do not want anything from North Macedonia. We have no strings attached and expect nothing from you. We only want to build even closer and better relations. We are not asking you to change your constitution, that is your internal business.

In a historic turn of events, North Macedonia is set to have its first-ever Albanian prime minister. Today, the parliament will convene for an extraordinary meeting to vote on the caretaker government responsible for organizing the upcoming spring elections in the country.

A senior US State Department official on Friday voiced hope that North Macedonia will be able to approve politically difficult constitutional changes that would help its bid to join the European Union.

Gabriel Escobar, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Balkan policy, said during talks in the capital Skopje that the US strongly backs the country's EU accession bid.