With regards to the policy proclaimed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who accused Macedonia of being an undemocratic country and openly supported Greece in the name dispute, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said that the Republic of Macedonia would not assume any special measures as regards its bilateral relations with France.

•French President Sarkozy tells his Macedonian counterpart Crvenkovski the name should stop being an obstacle to Macedonia s accession to the EU.

The Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) will enter the new government. This is the result of the talks led between mandatary Nikola Gruevski and BDI leader Ali Ahmeti over the last few days, Vest reports. Gruevski and Ahmeti have already agreed on the chief contours of the future government and this new coalition could be made public as early as today, party sources said.

The demarcation of the border between Macedonia and Kosovo started yesterday with the laying of a boundary column at the junction of the three state borders of Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania. The first boundary column was placed at the location known as Serupa, on Sar Mountain, at 2,100 meters above sea-level, in the presence of representatives of Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania, and representatives of the international community.

For the first time in the talks on the name dispute, Macedonia raised the issues of rights for the Macedonians deported from Greece and rights for the Macedonian minority in Greece.

UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will arrive in Skopje today where he will meet with Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

•Rosemary DiCarlo, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, is paying an official visit to Macedonia today.

Mandatary Nikola Gruevski gave BDI leader Ali Ahmeti and PDSH leader Menduh Thaci room to decide whether they agree to join the future government together. Gruevski proposed to Thaci and Ahmeti that they enter the new ruling coalition together and that they share five minister posts between them. The mandatary gave them one week to think about this proposal. The daily comments that it is not certain whether these parties will accept this proposal considering the big antagonism between them.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki stressed at the Tuesday summit in Brussels dedicated to the Balkans that Macedonia was resolved to meet the tasks required for joining the EU. However, as a small country Macedonia is worried that additional unprincipled conditions and obstacles which are not at all part of the Copenhagen criteria may also be set. "The EU should respect the principles it sets and evaluate the progress of the candidate countries on that basis. An EU member state abuses a bilateral name issue, puts pressure on Macedonia to renounce its right to national self-determination and blocks its European integration," he said.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski gave the mandate for formation of the new government to VMRO-DPMNE Chairman Nikola Gruevski yesterday. Immediately after this, Gruevski started talks with PDSH and BDI on formation of a new ruling coalition.

The Macedonian state leadership held an hour-long meeting in the President’s Office yesterday with regards to UN mediator Matthew Nimetz’s upcoming visit to Macedonia this Friday. It was a

New Macedonian Assembly was constituted on Saturday. VMRO-DPMNE’s Trajko Veljanovski was elected assembly chairman, receiving votes of 79 of 114 parliamentarians. BDI supported Veljanovski’s designation to this post, while PDSH boycotted constituting of Assembly, maintaining that results of repeated voting were suspicious.

- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski received support from the European right-wing parties in Brussels as regards Macedonia's date for starting accession talks.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met with EU Special Envoy for Security and Foreign Policy Javier Solana in Brussels yesterday. Gruevski said after the meeting with Solana, “The obligations ensuing from the eight benchmarks will be our top priorities. We will try to complete them as soon as possible so that the country could move forward as soon as possible. We will do this, not just because of the European Union, but also for ourselves and for a better life of the citizens of Macedonia”.

 

Macedonian Parliament to hold constitutive meeting and verify new MP terms on Saturday.

Macedonia is prepared for an agreement with Greece and it is in the country's interest to continue the talks under the auspices of the UN. However, Macedonia will have to adapt its strategy to the new conditions, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski said in the interview for BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network), the media write.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski will negotiate with both Ahmeti and Thaci. Sources from the governing VMRO-DPMNE say that a coalition with BDI is possible provided that Ahmeti does not repeat his mistake of 2006 when during the negotiations he blackmailed the then ruling coalition.

At the Sunday early parliamentary election revote in the first, second and sixth electoral units, the coalition "For Better Macedonia" led by VMRO-DPMNE won 63, the coalition "Sun-Coalition for Europe" headed by SDSM 27, BDI 18, PDSH 11 and PEI one parliamentary seats.

•Rerun held in peaceful and calm atmosphere.

•12 people were arrested by police in relation to the election re-run incidents.

•SEC: Voter turnout 30,08% in election re-run by 13:00 pm

•The voter turnout in election re-run by 10:00 o’clock is 12,40 percent, State Election Commission (DIK) Vice President Subhi Jakupi informed at a press conference.

Voting did not start in three polling stations in Tetovo Golema Recica (1985, 1986 and 1987) because the electoral material was stolen, said at the Sunday' press conference Subhi Jakupi, SEC Vice President.

“Holding of fair and democratic elections remains the ninth benchmark that Macedonia has to fulfill to be given a date for start of the negotiations for membership,” EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said following the meeting with Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki in Brussels yesterday.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki stated that Macedonia expects to receive a date for start of the negotiations with the European Union, despite Greece’s threats that it would veto such decision and despite the violence at the elections.

The international community representatives in Macedonia want the Government to take preventive measures to ensure that the election violence is not repeated. The international monitors already stated that they are not satisfied with the response of the state institutions on 1 June. This message was conveyed to Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska by the ambassadors of the EU and NATO member countries at yesterday’s meeting in the Macedonian Foreign Ministry.

BDI welcomed, while PDSH criticized the State Election Commission’s (DIK) decision to cancel the voting in 193 polling places. Both parties believe that they will win the elections following the voting on 15 June, when the elections will be repeated in the first, second, and sixth constituencies. PDSH accused DIK of acting on the orders of Ali Ahmeti and of working against the interests of the Albanians.

The State Election Commission voided the vote in 68 polling stations in the first, second and sixth electoral units.

In the words of the Commission's spokesman, Zoran Tanevski, based on complaints from the Democratic Party of Albanians (PDSH), the Commission annulled the vote in 13 polling stations, or more specifically, in 2133 in Jegunovce, 821 and 829 in Zajas, 502 in Gostivar, 785, 790, 791, 792, 793 and 796 in Oslomej, 1101 in Kumanovo, 2473 in Cucer Sandevo and 2890 in Cair.

Macedonian Government Spokesman Ivica Bosevski said Thursday the Greek ban on the Macedonia President's plane was the most serious scandal at the hands of Greece thus far.

The Greek authorities do not allow the plane of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, with which Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski was supposed to travel to Greece next week, to land in Athens, state news agency MIA reports. Consequently, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski cancelled his participation in the UNESCO Summit of Presidents of Southeastern European Countries, which will be held in Athens on 13 June.

The Macedonian Foreign Ministry informed that a Greek military contingent, part of the KFOR forces in Kosovo, was prevented from entering Macedonia on Tuesday because it did not have complete documentation.