Macedonia has retained its stable credit rating. The world-renowned credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has confirmed its previous BB- domestic and foreign currency credit rating for Macedonia, based on the country's moderate level of public and foreign debt and the expectation of an average economic growth rate of 3.4 percent of GDP, thanks to the stable FDI influx. This is seen as a good signal to foreign and domestic investors.
According to Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski, this is excellent news because Macedonia's stable rating has been confirmed for several years in a row, as opposed to the credit ratings of many other countries, which have been lowered.
"The investment banks and the real sector investors follow these ratings and these movements and to them this is confirmation that the country is going in the right direction," Minister Stavreski said.
A positive assessment of Macedonia's credit rating has recently been issued by the Fritsch agency as well and another confirmation for the country's stability came when Macedonia issued a Eurobond at an interest rate of 3.9 percent, the lowest rate at which a country in the region has ever borrowed.
The EU has allocated a total of 664 million euros, or 320 euros per capita, for Macedonia via the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance IPA 2 2014-2020. According to the National IPA 2 2014-2020 Document, presented Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Fatmir Beismi and EU Ambassador Aivo Orav, the money will be used for carrying out strategic activities in four key areas: democracy; rule of law and human rights; socio-economic development, education and human resources development; and agriculture and rural development.
Deputy Prime Minister Besimi stressed that the IPA 2 Programme was strong evidence that Macedonia's Partnership with the EU was on a sound footing and that Brussels continued to strongly support the enlargement of the EU toward the Western Balkans including Macedonia.
"Another fact that proves the friendship and the EU's commitment is the fact that this second framework is larger than the previous one. Although the EU is going through a tough period of economic recovery, its member states decided to allocate a portion of the money of their taxpayers to enlargement," Besimi said.
Two projectiles were fired at the government building in the center of Skopje on Tuesday night, police informed. One of them hit the roof of the building and the other the side of it. They were both provided to the relevant institutions for further investigation, Vest reports.
The government security reported to the police late on Tuesday at about 10 pm that two detonations were heard in the government building. Teams of the Interior Ministry together with a public prosecutor immediately conducted an onsite investigation and two hours later the projectiles were found. Taking into account the sizes of the holes they made, the projectiles must have been fired from a high caliber weapon.
"We are working to determine the type of the weapon from which these projectiles were fired, the direction from which they came, the motives and the identity of the perpetrators," Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska said on Wednesday.
- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski attended Tuesday the commemoration "Belgium Remembers" dedicated to the centenary of the First World War. The event, attended by guests from 83 countries, was hosted by King Philip and Queen Matilda.
The Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed with the USA in May of 2008, closer cooperation between the Macedonian Parliament and the US Congress and concrete foreign investments from 2007 to 2014 are the benefits from the period during which Zoran Jolevski served as Macedonian Ambassador to the USA, said Antonio Milososki, chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, at the session Monday at which Jolevski, former ambassador and name dispute negotiator and now Minister of Defense, presented an account of his achievements.
Asked whether the USA is doing enough or could do more to help resolve the name dispute, and whether the Americans could become more involved and could balance better their pressure on Macedonia and Greece, Jolevski said that the US position was that Europe would not be fully united as long as the Western Balkans is kept outside of the EU and NATO.
"The US has made it clear that it supports the process carried out under UN auspices and that it wants a solution to the dispute to be found as soon as possible. At this moment, I don't believe they are ready to become involved in this process and to impose a solution. In my view, pressure is being put equally on both Macedonia and Greece," Jolevski said.
- The foundations of the Church of St Zlata Meglenska in Zagreb were laid on Sunday. This is going to be the first temple of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the region. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, who said on that occasion that the construction of the church only confirmed the already strong ties between Macedonia and Croatia.
- Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki and Deputy Economy Minister Kristijan Delev participated in the conference titled "Western Balkans – Economic Governance and Connection" in Belgrade on Thursday, at which the new European economic approach was presented and accepted.
At the end of Tuesday's debate, the majority MPs accepted the conclusions drafted based on the EC report on Macedonia's progress in 2014. Only the MPs of PDSH voted against.
Aleksandar Nikolovski from VMRO-DPMNE welcomed the recommendation from the EC for opening membership negotiations with Macedonia as recognition for the country's political leaders and citizens and praised the EC's principled policy of recommending talks for the sixth time even though the European Council has refused to set a date for opening talks for five years.
He once again appealed to SDSM to return to Parliament because, he said, as it is, SDSM risks being marginalized as a party, which, in fact, has already started to happen.
"The problem of the Republic of Macedonia is called Greece because this country blocks Macedonia's membership of the Euro-Atlantic structures," he said.
- Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov was awarded Prix de la Fondation 2014 of the Crans Montana Forum, informs the Board of the Forum. President Ivanov is awarded for his personal contribution to the activities and achievements in all areas of society, and for his commitment to the defense of fundamental freedoms.
- President of the Swiss Confederation Didier Burkhalter on Thursday in Bern received Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov and both of them stressed the desire for greater cooperation in all fields. The Macedonian President extended gratitude for the support that official Bern gives the country and President Burkhalter expressed assurance that the cooperation will resume in the future too.
Twenty years since the establishment of diplomatic ties with 18 countries from all continents and Vatican were marked with a ceremonious academy in the Macedonian National Theater. In his speech, Minister Nikola Poposki said that the twenty years should be used as a bridge for promotion of the cooperation in the future.
Representatives of intelligence and security services of 20 countries from the region and beyond attend a 2 day conference in Ohrid behind closed doors in a bid to seek out ways to contain the spread of religious radicalism among the young and stop them from joining militants in Syria and Iraq, Dnevnik reports.
The Interior Ministry has confirmed that such a meeting is taking place in Ohrid on 13 and 14 October but has refused to reveal information what countries the conference attendees come from or what activities are to follow.
The meeting is part of the collaboration of the Balkan and some of the Western services in the crackdown on jihadists from the region.
- Macedonia will receive 157 million euros from the World Bank to fund its road infrastructure. The money is split in two credits, the first of which of 52 million euros has already been approved by the WB's Board of Directors, while the second one of 105 million euros is expected to receive approval from the Board early next year, said Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski who together with National Bank Governor Dimitar Bogov and other officials held meetings with the leaders of the IMF and the WB at their annual meeting in Washington.
- Macedonia is celebrating 11 October, Day of the Uprising against Fascism. Together with 2 August, this day is a symbol of the Macedonian resistance and struggle for independence. Historians say it is high time all Macedonians unified over crucial national issues and used history as a motive for unity in all areas of society.
- President of the Republic of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov on Wednesday met with EU Ambassador Aivo Orav who handed over the European Commission progress report on Macedonia for 2014. As the president’s cabinet informed, Orav informed Ivanov on the key remarks contained in the report, prepared by the European Commission.
- Macedonia and Montenegro nourish friendly relations and share the same priorities, the Foreign ministers of both countries, Nikola Poposki and Igor Luskic, concluded Tuesday in Podgorica. The ministers, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed, conformed the need for cooperation in international framework, in particular the efforts of both countries to join the EU and NATO. They reaffirmed the need for creating joint approach to bolstering the economic cooperation and attracting foreign investments.
The Republic of Macedonia will receive the sixth consecutive recommendation for opening membership negotiations with the European Union, MIA's Brussels-based correspondent reported on Monday. EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule is going to reveal on Wednesday (8 October) the progress reports on the candidate member states and potential candidate member states.
The Ambassadors of the EU member states of the COREPER 2 Group of the Council of the Union were presented Friday the last draft versions of the progress reports. It was said on that occasion that despite certain problems in the country, Macedonia would be given a recommendation for talks because, in general, it had made progress in aligning its legislation with the European acquis.
- Lake Ohrid got the first white flag which is a symbol for clean water and motive for greater care of the environment. President of Global Underwater Awareness Association (GUWAA), Kristijan Curavic, said that the white flag is the only symbol that guarantees complete cleanness whereas according to Ohrid Mayor Nikola Bakraceski, this symbol represents an enormous honor for Ohrid.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON PRESIDENT KIRO GLIGOROV An assassination attempt on the life of the President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov took place in Skopje today, a couple of minutes before 10.00 A.M.. The assassination attempt took place on the street "Makedonija," across the street from Hotel Bristol in the city center, most probably while President Gligorov was being driven in the official Mercedes from his home to the Macedonian Parliament, where his cabinet is located. According to Radio Skopje, the President's life is not in danger, he has only received minor bodily injuries and is conscious. The assassination was carried out with a car-bomb. The bomb was placed in a parked car Spacek (Citroen Ami 8) and exploded at the moment when the President's Mercedes with a licence plate SK 001 AA was passing by. The explosive was most probably activated by remote control. Immediately after the assassination attempt, President Gligorov was taken to the City hospital in Skopje, in the intensive care ward, where he was thoroughly examined. Afterwards, he was X-rayed, during which time, as Radio Skopje reports, Gligorov communicated with the doctor on duty, inquiring about the seriousness of his injuries.
The Czech Republic is fully prepared to support Macedonia in its preparations for joining the EU and NATO, said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka after meeting his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski in Prague on Thursday. The Czech Republic believes that when conditions are met, there are no reasons to object to Macedonia's membership of NATO and opening EU accession talks.
"We are going to continue to be active in supporting EU and NATO enlargement as far as Macedonia is concerned. The Czech Republic has long been supporting the Republic of Macedonia on its way to European and Euro-Atlantic integration and we have positive assessments of the steps Macedonia has been taking to prepare for its membership of these organizations," Sobotka said.
The new Ambassador to the USA and new name issue negotiator, Vasko Naumovski, presented his agenda before Parliament on Wednesday.
In regard to the name row with Greece, he said "we are going to continue exchanging views and ideas," and informed that the following meeting between the negotiators is expected to be held by the end of the year.
"In these talks, Macedonia has clearly expressed its resolve to bridge the differences concerning our name. Unfortunately, we have the impression that there is little motivation on the other side for resolution of the problem. Nevertheless, we are going to continue talking with our neighbors within the legal framework established based on the Resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Interim Accord and the Judgment of the International Court of Justice," he said before the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee presenting his activities as new Macedonian Ambassador to Washington.
Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov announced Tuesday the new composition of the Security Council, five months after his re-election as head of state and more than three months after the election of the new government of VMRO-DPMNE. The second partner in office, BDI, which refused to recognize President Ivanov's legitimacy, had no representatives to the Council, Utrinski vesnik reports.
In addition to Professor Veli Kreci, who was a member of the Council before as well, President Ivanov assigned two new members. In keeping with the regulations stipulating that the council members have to reflect the ethnic structure of the Macedonian population, Ivanov secured a seat on the Council to former PDSH Member of Parliament Flora Kadriu, and to Naser Sejdini, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Macedonian Army.
The other five officials whose membership of the Council is implied by the office they currently fill are Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Interior, Zoran Jolevski, Nikola Poposki and Gordana Jankuloska.
Following Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos's address at the UN General Assembly on Saturday and his meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Poposki, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been very active these days explaining the Greek position to the name issue with Macedonia.
In the latest press release from Venizelos's Office, it is stressed that Greece is not happy with the provisional reference of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia either. The press release explains that Greece has been arguing for a complex name with a geographic qualifier that would precede 'Macedonia' rather than 'Republic' and that would be used everywhere, both at home and abroad. It is added that this position has been reiterated many times, both in Greece and abroad, and that is has been the basis for the Greek negotiator's involvement in the process of negotiation mediated by Mr. Matthew Nimetz. The press release then goes on to explain the Greek position to the provisional reference.
- Macedonia, as of Monday, is part of the EU Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Programme (COSME) with a total budget of 2.3 billion euros. Macedonian Economy Minister Bekim Neziri and EU Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Ferdinando Nelli Feroci signed in Brussels an agreement allowing Macedonia to join the EU programme for the period between 2014 and 2020.
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski presented over the weekend the activities that his cabinet had carried out over the past one hundred days. His account largely focused on the completed economic projects, paying little attention to the political situation in the country, Utrinski vesnik reports.
The prime minister elaborated in detail 670 projects in the fields of business, infrastructure, social affairs, investments, etc, 116 of which he said had been fully carried out as 554 were in progress.
"Over the past 100 days, we have worked very hard, while thousands of people were included in the execution of our program at all levels," he said.
The prime minister stressed that attracting foreign investments was one of the most successful policies of the Government, praised the achieved economic growth rate and highlighted the heralded increase in the public sector salaries. He also talked about the measures for subduing unemployment, the benefits for the socially vulnerable categories of citizens, and the construction of the Demir Kapija-Smokvica, Miladinovci-Stip and Kicevo-Ohrid highways, while only briefly addressing the political crisis in the wake of the April parliamentary and presidential elections, which has had an effect on the international standing of the country.
- Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on Thursday for the first time addressed the Security Council of the United Nations, convened by President Barack Obama for dealing with the growing threat of terrorism. In his address, President Ivanov linked stalled integration with the security situation in the region and urged the United States and the European Union not to leave vacuum in the Balkans. In this regard, President Ivanov requested respect to the resolutions adopted exactly by the Security Council for the dispute between Macedonia and Greece and to continue the integration of Macedonia as well as the rest of the Balkan countries.
Although it was almost certain that SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE would issue a joint press release Tuesday saying they would resume talks, events took an unexpected turn. Despite all the attempts made behind the stage to renew communication, Renata Treneska-Deskoska from SDSM's executive board stated Wednesday that Parliament Speaker Veljanoski should verify the resignations of their MPs right away.
"The resignations of the opposition MPs were submitted to Parliament four months ago after Veljanoski and the government forcefully verified their legislative seats. The resignations are in his office and he should stop setting ultimatums. He does not have to wait until 8 October. He can verify our resignations right away if he feels like it," Deskoska said.
The future Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, wants to see progress in Macedonia's European integration. Once he takes over the job from Stefan Fule on 1 November, he plans to pay his first visit to the Republic of Macedonia.
High-ranking sources from the European Commission told MIA that as far as the enlargement negotiations portfolio is concerned, Mr. Hahn was most interested in Macedonia's case. He is said to have been surprised by the fact that the country has been a candidate member state for nine years and that it has been issued recommendations for opening accession talks from the EC for five years in a row but that talks have not yet started due to Greece's objection.
Although, due to the precedence the neighborhood policy is given over the enlargement negotiations, the first country that he is officially expected to visit is Ukraine, as far as his second task is concerned – EU enlargement – he is said to have expressed a wish to visit Macedonia in November.
- The recent statement of newly-appointed US Ambassador to Skopje Jess Baily during his nomination hearing in the US Senate – that Slavs and Albanians live in Macedonia, is a misunderstanding which came from journalists’ poor and incorrect reporting, stressed outgoing US ambassador Paul Wohlers. According to him, there is no such change in the politics of the US administration in terms of the ethnicity and identity of people that live in Macedonia.
- President Gjorge Ivanov kicked off his participation in this year’s UN General Assembly with a meeting with the Macedonian Diaspora in New Jersey. President Ivanov and first lady Maja Ivanova attended a ceremonious dinner organized by church Saint Cyril and Methodius in New Jersey. In his speech before several hundred guests, President Ivanov pointed out that Macedonia continues facing denials and wrong perceptions.
