- UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon arrived in Ohrid late Tuesday and held a meeting with the members of the leader’s school that is being held under the auspices of President Gjorge Ivanov. In his address, Ki-moon referred to Macedonia with its constitutional name – the Republic of Macedonia, and stressed that the United Nations does not make a compromise when the universal values are at issue. Ki-moon was the guest at the ceremonial dinner organized by President Ivanov and met with PM Nikola Gruevski.

Greece, through the current holder of the European Union, Cyprus, exercises pressure on Enlargement Commission Stefan Fule to change the statement on Macedonia, in which he praises the country for the Euro-integration progress. As DEN has learned, Cyprus fiercely opposed that Fule openly stood on Macedonia’s side and shifted the pressure on solving the name issue onto Greece. For this reason, it will not be any surprise if the Commissioner changes his approach in the coming period and replaces the boasts with criticisms.

- European Commissioner Stefan Fule on Monday in Brussels met with Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki and Deputy PM for European Affairs Teuta Arifi. At the separate meeting with Poposki and Arifi, Fule once again stressed that Brussels is satisfied with the country’s approach toward the European integration and that there is an impression in Brussels that Macedonia is mature for official negotiations.

The Government got a solid three from experts of socio-economic policies that was conducted over the past year after the government, for the second time, won the trust of citizens. The great crisis that hit Europe and the numerous announcements for an economic boom given in the pre-election period, were important factors that had an effect on the grades of experts who graded the economic achievements of the government from 1 to 5 for newspaper Dnevnik.

In general, the government’s projects and achievements in some spheres got an average grade of 3,4. The agricultural subsidies and measures for support of the economy, according to experts, are the spheres where the Government gave its maximum and that positively affected the country’s overall economy. The state aid in the agriculture got the highest average grade of all other spheres, namely 4,25. The anti-crisis measures are graded with 3,5. The government team mostly failed in the energy sector which got an average grade of 2. A disappointment for experts are also the achievements in the construction of new roads, as well as the economic profit of project “Skopje 2014” that got an average grade of 2,5. The gasification and fight against unemployment are in the middle with a 2,75 grade.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki is to pay a two-day working visit to Brussels where he is to participate at the meeting of the Stabilization and Association Council between the EU and Macedonia. According to announcements, Poposki is to have a rich agenda of bilateral meetings and meet with counterparts from Malta and Denmark.

 

- NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow met Wednesday with Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki and said that NATO has no plan B for Macedonia’s NATO accession. Vershbow was amazed by the plan for 50-percent troop deployment. Vershbow also said that NATO’s doors remain open to Macedonia but there must be a prior name solution.

The Judicial Council is to elect a new president of the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Former president Jovo Vangelovski will not attend the Council’s session that he is a member of with the right to vote because his term of office officially ended Tuesday.  

Last week, Vangelovski gave up on the candidature for a second mandate without disclosing the reasons for his withdrawal, briefly commenting that he does this for “personal reasons.” Two candidates remain in the race for this function: former president of Skopje’s Criminal Court Lidija Nedelkova and criminal judge Risto Katavenovski. However, it is uncertain whether Vangelovski’s successor will be chosen on Wednesday because there are speculations in the court circles that chances are great for this voting to end up like the one with the election of the president of the Criminal Court last week when none of the two candidates got the necessary number of votes, Utrinski Vesnik comments.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to arrive in Skopje on 25 July together with special envoy for the name issue Matthew Nimetz. This, as Serbian newspaper “Politika” reports, was announced by Ki-moon himself at the briefing with journalists in New York, when answering the question whether he is concerned over the fact that the name issue between the two countries has still not been solved.

“My special envoy for this issue will accompany me to Skopje and we’ll have the opportunity to hold talks with President Ivanov and PM Gruevski. Unfortunately, this name dispute has been going on for too long. I have urged the leaders of Greece and FYROM long time ago to solve this issue as soon as possible for their good, and it is important for them to show flexibility and a sense for compromise,” said Ki-moon.

The country’s authorities confirmed the visit of the Secretary General. PM Nikola Gruevski said that he expected the UN Secretary General to be directly informed about the name talks taking place under UN auspice.

Two days after the Greek Parliament voted trust in the new Greek government, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak visited Macedonia and said that the name issue should be separated from the start of Macedonia’s EU membership negotiations and that the name issue has to be resolved before the membership negotiations are over, Nova Makedonija reports.

This option for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration has long been talked about as an agenda that Macedonia diplomats are pushing for. However, since recently it has the support of two high-ranking European politicians. This option is considered auspicious for Macedonia considering it is expected to be a notable impetus to the process of European integration and the name issue resolution. Estimates are that such an outcome would boost trust between Skopje and Athens, which has constantly been eroded since the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008.

Macedonia is ready for meetings with Greece and for intensifying the process of bettering relations between the two countries, said Zoran Jolevski, Macedonian Ambassador to the USA and negotiator in the name issue talks, in his lecture at the Rumi Forum in Washington.

“Macedonia has sent a message many times to our neighbors that it is ready for meetings, any time and any place, in order to intensify the process. With the establishment of the new Greek government, I hope that this process will be finally propelled ahead. My Government has recently suggested to the Greek Government that we should sign an agreement on good neighborly relations, which is going to be a good step in improving relations between our two countries,” Jolevski said.

All options are open in the battle for the name with Athens, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki told Dnevnik, a day after the Greek newspaper To Vima reported that Macedonia is getting ready to seek accession to the UN under its constitutional name.

Citing three Greek ambassadors, the influential daily says that the Macedonian authorities may also launch initiatives at the EU and NATO.

“I would not like to comment on reports in papers. Yet I would not rule out any of the stated options. Every decision passed will be in adherence with the international law,” Minister Poposki said.

Eleven initiatives for cooperation submitted by Macedonia have either been refused or blocked by official Athens. Listing the initiatives for cooperation at a briefing with reporters Monday, Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said the main message they wish to send was that relations between the two countries were riddled with debates while deficient in concrete steps.

“We are open to cooperation. You decide what steps we should make but let us do something. Let us not talk about good neighborly relations while at the same time putting stickers that are insulting and groundless,” Minister Poposki said.

He welcomed the formation of the new Greek government, stressing its closeness to the government of Cyprus, the current chair of the European Union.

In a time of crisis, when Macedonia needs services of foreign banks, the song cannot be played by the same old notes. I suppose that the Macedonian government realized this and is now changing the politics that proved dysfunctional, says Nano Ruzin, former Macedonian Ambassador to NATO, following the Government’s proposal for intensifying talks with Greece, Nova Makedonija reports.

Former Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule says that Macedonia is demonstrating open-mindedness with this initiative, which is a guarantee for the international community that if it is admitted to NATO and is negotiating by the principles of the Interim Accord, the state will continue demonstrating seriousness in the name issue negotiations.

“This is yet another confirmation of the Macedonian constructiveness and offering of a wide space for a name resolution and for reaching a compromise, which will later be voted on by the Macedonian people. Also, this contradicts the Greek allegations that talks have been stalled,” Casule says.

-    Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki participated in the international conference Croatia Summit 2012 in Dubrovnik. Poposki said Macedonia had met all criteria for opening EU accession talks four years ago and therefore it was high time for the country to finally open them.

Greek President Carolos Papoulias sent a harsh message to the Macedonian government demanding of it to “stop the ideology of Macedonianism.” He addressed Greece’s relations with Macedonia at the official dinner with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev in Athens.

In fact, Papoulias only reiterated the Greek well-known red line, pointing out that the politics of the Macedonian Government keeps the doors of NATO and the EU closed to Macedonia. He did not say though whether he talked with his Bulgarian counterpart about Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s statement that the proposal “Northern Macedonia,” or any name with a geographic qualifier, was unacceptable to Sofia, Utrinski vesnik reports.

Within the framework of the inter-governmental Macedonian-Russian commission, the Russian company Stroytransgaz and Macedonian Energy Resources signed a memorandum of cooperation, which is the first step toward building a national gas network in Macedonia. The cost of the project is 75 million dollars, 60 million dollars of which is the Russian clearing debt to Macedonia and 1.5 million dollars is from the Macedonian budget in order to round off the financial construction of this part.

“This represents the crown of the efforts we have so far invested within the framework of the intergovernmental Macedonian-Russian commission and the agreement on regulation of Russia’s clearing debt toward Macedonia,” said Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski after signing the memorandum.

The start of the construction of the gas facilities was also confirmed by Maksim Aleksandrovich-Travnikov, Deputy Minister of Regional Development.

“The project for full gasification of Macedonia costs 300 million dollars and it will be carried out in stages in keeping with the talks being conducted with the European Bank, expected to provide additional funding,” Minister Stavreski said.

- President Gjorge Ivanov as of Sunday is paying an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan and on Monday, Ivanov will meet his host, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Ivanov is also scheduled to address a Business Forum, at which the opportunities for investing in Macedonia are to be presented to Kazakh businessmen

Despite the political differences that we had in the past and still have now, we feel responsibility to cooperate and do our best to get the country back on the right track, the one-time fierce enemies, Branko Crvenkovski and Ljubco Georgievski, leaders of SDSM and VMRO-NP respectively, said at their long announced meeting Thursday. Many analysts agree with them yet just as many argue that their alliance could cut both ways, Den reports.

Georgievski and I have been fierce opponents over the past 20 years. We have had conflicting view on many issues and have fought difficult political battles. However, there have also been situations, such as the independence referendum in 1991, the adoption of the first Constitution as well as the conflict of 2001 when we had no other option but to cooperate. Macedonia faces today just as difficult challenges as it did back in 1991 and 2001. Therefore, we feel responsible to do everything we can to restore the country on the right track,” Crvenkovski said after meeting Georgievski at the Aleksandar Palace Hotel in Skopje.

- PM Nikola Gruevski in an interview with CNN said that Macedonia has the lowest costs for running business in Europe. He said that Macedonia is facing some problems as a result of the Greek debt crisis. However they are not as strong as the issues emerging from the recession within the European Union. He stressed that the Greek crisis has had an impact on the Macedonian economy but step by step our companies have quickly found compensation by striking deals with companies from other countries.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) handed over Tuesday a note of protest to Greece's ambassador to Macedonia, Alexandra Papadopoulou in relation to the case involving stickers put on new vehicle registration plates owned by Macedonian citizens when entering Greece, urging this "illegitimate practice" to stop.

We have a shared historical and cultural past and a shared goal – Euro-Atlantic integration, said Enver Hoxhaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo after meeting his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Poposki in Skopje Monday.

Both minister confirmed their commitment to EU integration, promotion of good neighborly relations and economic cooperation and promotion of the region as an economically good location for investments and tourism.

The dialogue on a technical level between representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Macedonia is going to resume in Skopje in autumn. Macedonia expects the meeting to produce genuine progress as regards a number of issues. It should also be a sign that Athens has completely abandoned the politics of Karamanlis, former Greek prime minister, who put on hold all bilateral contacts when the United State of America recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name in November of 2004.

Although Athens and Skopje had a number of meetings on a high bilateral level (between prime ministers and ministers of foreign affairs), there was almost no communication and political meetings between the ministries of foreign affairs or any other government bodies. As a result of the stalemate, no agreements were being signed between the two countries. The scarce communication drew upon very old agreements from the time of former SFRY or the principles of the Interim Accord, which produced a few memorandums or protocols for cooperation.

- PM Nikola Gruevski met Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. Following the meeting, Gruevski stated that this represents a new impulse for the countries' economic cooperation, because we got a positive reaction for Macedonia's inclusion into the South Stream energy project and the gasification project in the country. Gruevski formally opened the Macedonian Honorary Consulate in Saint Petersburg.

-    The Russian company Stroytransgaz specializing in construction of systems for transport of gas is going to build the gas pipeline in Macedonia, according to the memorandum to be signed Thursday by Macedonian government officials and representatives of Stroytransgaz. The plan for collecting the clearing debt from the Russian Federation through building a gas pipeline along the Klecovce-Stip-Negotino-TEC Negotino-Kavadarci route will be realized in this way. It will be the main gas transportation artery in Macedonia.

Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski and Russian Deputy-Minister of Education and Science Inna Bilenkina signed Tuesday an agreement for recognition of documents over acquired education and academic titles.

- PM Nikola Gruevski who is paying a visit to the Russian Federation participated Monday at a business forum in Moscow and he is to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in St. Petersburg. This meeting is supposed to give a new signal in the relations between the two countries.

The settlement of the clearing debt of the Russian Federation with the construction of a gas pipeline in Macedonia and introducing charter flights between the two countries was announced by Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in his interview with the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, given before his visit to Russia.

PM Gruevski stresses in his interview that it is important for Macedonia to realize a more concrete cooperation with Russia in the field of energy.

“Our two countries have struck an initial deal for settlement of the clearing debt of the Russian Federation accrued during the time we were still part of former Yugoslavia. That settlement could be effectuated through building a gas pipeline along the Klecovce-Stip-TEC Negotino-Kavadarci route, Macedonia’s main gas transportation artery,” he says.

Macedonians speaking the Macedonian language live in this country and that is something the Greeks cannot change whatever their blackmail, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at a public debate in the municipality of Petrovec on Thursday.

“They should get the idea of changing the identity of the people of Macedonia through blackmails off their minds. It existed, exists and will continue existing,” Gruevski said.

He underlined that the pressure from Macedonia’s southern neighbor will not succeed.

- Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov is to participate Friday at the Summit of South-East European countries in Belgrade. Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki will also attend the summit and present the priorities of the Macedonian presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process.

I trust that the endless story of the name will soon be over. Macedonia deserves that this issue be resolved. I believe that the new Greek government, after the elections, will be interested in making a contribution, Franco Frattini, former Italian Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, told Deutsche Welle, underlining the support from Italy that Macedonian may count on in “overcoming this pending problem and creating a climate of trust so the EU can finally set Macedonia a date for opening membership negotiations.”

Frattini believes that Europe should not stop the process of enlargement, which, in his view, has been a positive experience. Unlike Frattini, Eckart D. Stratenschulte, director of the European Academy Berlin, believes that upon the admission of Croatia and maybe Iceland, a longer break in the process of enlargement would ensue.

The crisis in the eurozone, the financial stability and the high unemployment rate in the European Union are expected to be the chief priorities in the course of the Cyprian Presidency of the Union. The admission of new members is hardly likely to be put on Cyprus’s list of priorities. Resolving the debt crisis will be in the focus instead. However, if enlargement appears on the agenda after all, Macedonia cannot expect much from the Cyprian Presidency considering that as far as the foreign policy toward Macedonia goes, Nicosia does what Athens tells it to do.

Experts emphasize that the presiding country may exert an influence in adding an issue to the priority list. However, the influence is limited when it comes to more important decisions, such as enlargement. Defining priorities is not of concern only to the presiding country but of all member states given that the chair’s program reflects the mood of the entire Union.