- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said during his visit to Stip Thursday that Macedonia completed most of its responsibilities for joining NATO and the EU. He is optimist that Macedonia will be set a date for EU accession talks by the end of 2008. "A country cannot blackmail and impede another country constantly. It is unjust and un-Christian policy. Greece threatened to veto Macedonia's accession to NATO. We made it plain to our neighbor that in the Republic of Macedonia there is no mood for name bargaining," he said.