After a 5-year break the Serbian church authorities reopened the doors to the monastery of St. Prohor Pcinjski to the Macedonian state delegation for commemoration of the 65th anniversary of holding the first meeting of ASNOM. The state delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanovski and Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki marked the Macedonian national day laying flowers before the recently set memorial plate at the new chapel put up before the gates of the monastery complex.

The Albanian political parties are gathering points by taking advantage of the European Union's pressure regarding fulfillment of the conditions necessary for a date for start of the negotiations for membership. However, this does not mean that they have really become radical, political analysts say for Vreme. PDSH will decide over the next few days whether it will withdraw from the Assembly if the parliamentarians do not ratify the law on use of the Albanian language on the whole territory of the country.

- President Gjorge Ivanov signed the decision on reduction of former ESM director Lambe Arnaudov's four-year prison sentence and this decision was published in the Government Gazette. A few hours later this decision was withdrawn. Arnaudov's name will be erased from the list of 61 individuals that the president decided to pardon on the occasion of the national holiday Ilinden for, as the President's Cabinet informed, "technical oversight".

 

The European Commission regards Macedonia as a serious partner and a future EU member state as evidenced by the transferred powers for running European money, said Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Vasko Naumovski on Tuesday.

The European Commission decided to let Macedonia run independently the money of the third component of the IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) funds intended for regional development on Friday.

This component totals 110 million euros, 40 million euros of which are for the 2007-2009 period and the rest is for 2010 and 2011. Two projects - completing the construction of Corridor X and building a waste treatment station in Prilep - will be realized in the first stage.

The Assembly ratified today the amendments to the Law on Financing Political Parties, one of the three laws stressed by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn as a condition for the state to receive a positive report from the European Commission this fall. The amendments were ratified unanimously with 68 votes "for". 

Macedonia is making good progress, even though it still has some open issues, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki assessed at the press conference held following the meeting of the EU-Macedonia Stabilization and Association Council in Brussels on Monday.

The EU had most remarks about the political dialogue, the partisan public administration, and the fight against corruption.

The three laws that the EU set as a condition for Macedonia to receive a date for start of the negotiations for membership will enter an assembly procedure as of Tuesday, after the Government accepted the opposition's remarks about the disputable points. The bill on financing the political parties, which is considered least "problematic", could be put on the assembly agenda on Tuesday, as there is initial agreement on this bill among all parliamentary parties. The party leaders agreed at their meeting on Friday that the Assembly should ratify the other two laws - the bill on the Assembly and the bill on the state administration - by 15 September. As a result, the parliamentarians' annual leave will be shortened and, to ensure a swift procedure, no amendments to these bills will submitted. The parliamentary parties and Assembly Chairman Trajko Veljanoski will define the assembly agenda for August and September at their coordinating meeting today.

- Foreign Minister Milososki and Deputy Prime Ministers Naumovski and Ademi will attend the meeting of the EU-Macedonia Stabilization and Association Council in Brussels. They will discuss Macedonia's progress as regards fulfillment of benchmarks and political and economic criteria, as well as implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement.

"There are real chances of Macedonia receiving a date for start of the negotiations for membership with the European Union this fall. But this depends on the results achieved in the next two months," EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn stated at the press conference with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in Skopje on Thursday. He said that he is impressed by the quality of the reforms related to visa liberalization, noting that the list of conditions that have to be fulfilled for start of the negotiations for membership is shortening.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn will pay one-day visit to Macedonia on Thursday. During his visit to Skopje, Rehn will meet with President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, and Assembly Chairman Trajko Veljanoski, the ministers included in the EU integration process, and the National Council for EU Integration.

 

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski paid an official visit to Serbia on Wednesday where he met with Serbian President Boris Tadic, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic, and Assembly Chairwoman Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic. Gruevski and Cvetkovic stressed at their meeting that Macedonia and Serbia have similar positions on many issues, especially EU integration and economic and cultural cooperation. They urged Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches to resolve open issues.

President Tadic stated at the press conference following the meeting with Gruevski that Macedonia and Serbia have different positions on Kosovo, but that the two countries could reconsider this issue after the International Court of Justice adopts a decision regarding Kosovo's independence. Tadic noted that the bill on minorities in Serbia would help improve the state of all minorities in Serbia, including the Macedonian minority. The Serbian president also voiced conviction that completion of Corridor 10 would help Macedonia develop.

The process before the International Court of Justice in The Hague should serve international law, not politics, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said, responding to Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis's statement that Greece will go to The Hague with strong arguments with which it will prove that the problem lies in the intolerance demonstrated by Skopje.

 Milososki stated that this statement of Bakoyannis did not surprise him, considering the internal turbulent political situation in Greece.

Under the pressure of the international community, ruling parties VMRO-DPMNE and BDI decided to ratify the bills on the Interior Ministry, the state administration, the Assembly, and financing of the political parties - which are a condition for Macedonia to receive a positive report from the European Commission - by the beginning of August, when the Assembly officially goes on summer recess. These laws will be adopted even though they do not have the support of the opposition - despite the fact that the EU insists on a consensus on these laws. Even though government coalition partners VMRO-DPMNE and BDI disagreed over the bill on the Interior Ministry, they reached an agreement on this law.

 

In accordance with the Order of the International Court of 20 January 2009, fixing 20 July 2009 as the time-limit for the filing of pleadings, the Republic of Macedonia has today filed its Memorial in the case that it brought against Greece on 17 November 2008, said the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Greece will now have until 20 January 2009 to file its Counter-Memorial. The Court has left open the procedure that will be followed after that date.

In accordance with the rules of the Court, the written pleadings remain confidential until the opening of any oral hearings.

The Memorial was submitted to the Registrar of the Court by Ambassador, Nikola Dimitrov, the Co-Agent for the Republic of Macedonia.  

"We welcome the opportunity to submit our Memorial with the Court, a body for which we have the greatest respect as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The next stage will be for Greece to file its Counter-Memorial, which it must do before 20 January 2010. After that date the Court will consult with the Parties and decide on the procedure that will then be followed. Our team has worked efficiently in preparing this Memorial, and I take the opportunity to thank all those who have assisted, in Macedonia as well as our outside experts, for their commitment and support," Ambassador Dimitrov said.

- President Gjorge Ivanov congratulated the Macedonian citizens Thursday on the toppling of the visa barrier. According to Ivanov, the fact that Macedonia met the criteria for lifting of visas shows that the Macedonian society is ready for the next moves for EU integration.

 

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski welcomed on behalf of the Macedonian Government and citizens, the European Commission's decision to propose lifting of the visa regime for Macedonia. "This is great success for our citizens. This is success of the Republic of Macedonia. This is success of the European idea in the Republic of Macedonia," Gruevski stressed at the government press conference on Wednesday.

The European Commission officially proposed liberalization of the visa regime with Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro. EC Vice-President Jacques Barrot and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn announced this decision of the European Commission at a press conference in Brussels today, MIA informs.
"I am pleased to announce lifting of the short-term visas for the citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. This is a historic moment in our relations with the Western Balkan countries. Visa liberalization will enable closer and more frequent relations between the citizens of these three countries and the citizens of the Schengen zone," Barrot stressed.

Within his farewell tour of the Western Balkans, EU High Representative Javier Solana had a meeting with Prime Minister Gruevski on Tuesday. Apart from Gruevski, he also met SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski and BDI leader Ali Ahmeti. Solana said at the press conference with Gruevski that he brought no date for starting accession talks, but brought good news regarding the visa liberalization. Prime Minister Gruevski said he informed Solana with regard to the meeting of the conditions for joining the EU and said that over the coming period the effort would be enhanced.

 

President Gjorge Ivanov is paying a 3-day official visit to Croatia. He met Monday his Croatian counterpart Stipe Mesic and afterwards they both said the bilateral disputes must no have an effect on the countries' EU integration. They also talked about the Macedonian-Croatian relations, the economic cooperation and the situation in the region.

- The Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration, Vasko Naumovski, met EU Ambassador Erwan Fouere on Monday. Naumovski stressed that over the next period, the Secretariat for European Affairs would work hard to meet all tasks in line with the EC conditions and that concrete results would follow in the coming weeks.

The Macedonian Assembly accepted the resignations of Agriculture Minister Aco Spasenoski, Education Minister Pero Stojanovski, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of EU affairs Ivica Bocevski, and Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic Affairs Zoran Stavreski at its session today. At the moment the parliamentarians are debating on Finance Minister Trajko Slaveski's replacement.

In his address before the parliamentarians, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski explained that the proposal for replacement of Slaveski was not made because the finance minister was involved in any illegal or dishonorable affairs or because he was incompetent. He stressed that he made this decision because he believes that it will help strengthen the Finance Ministry. He thanked Finance Minister Slaveski for all his effort so far and he asked the parliamentarians to support this change in the Finance Ministry.

Education Minister Pero Stojanovski and Agriculture Minister Aco Spasenoski resigned their offices Wednesday. Notices of resignation were tendered also by Hristijan Delev, Deputy Agriculture Minister, and Stojan Todorov, Secretary General in the Government. The paper learned that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski dismissed Finance Minister Trajko Slaveski.

Ljupco Dimovski will be the new agriculture minister. He has thus far served as Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications. Dimovski is economist and is from the ranks of the Socialist Party.

 

Name issue mediator Matthew Nimetz offered in Skopje Tuesday a modified group of variants of the last proposal - Republic of Northern Macedonia. He refused to reveal details of the modified proposal and said that following the meetings with the Macedonian state leaders he was more confident that a certain kind of solution might be found.

The name of the new deputy prime minister in charge of EU affairs will be revealed next week. VMRO-DPMNE sources said that the new deputy prime minister would come from this party and they stressed that Ivica Bocevski, who submitted an irrevocable resignation from this post, would remain part of the team, Dnevnik writes.

Ivica Bocevski submitted today an irrevocable resignation from the post deputy prime minister in charge of EU affairs, the government Public Relations Sector informed, MIA reports. In the letter to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Bocevski expressed gratitude for the trust invested in him. “However, my contribution in the current Government has been exhausted, which is why I inform you that I submit today an irrevocable resignation from the post deputy prime minister in charge of EU Affairs,” Bocevski stated in the letter. Bocevski also informed the prime minister that Pero Dimsoski, state secretary at the Secretariat for EU Affairs, would assume responsibility for the running of the secretariat until a new deputy prime minister is appointed.

The EC is going to recommend unconditional lifting of visas for Macedonia on 14 July in Strasbourg during the first session of the new EU Parliament, Utrinski vesnik's correspondent from Brussels said. This has been confirmed also by the cabinet of EC Vice-President Jacques Barrot.

- Matthew Nimetz, the mediator in the name issue, did not put forward a new proposal for resolution of the dispute in Geneva Monday. According to Macedonian negotiator Zoran Jolevski, the aim of the meeting was for mediator Nimetz to hear the positions of the parties. Jolevski assessed the meeting as diplomatically constructive.

- Macedonia and Greece with UN mediation are going to resume name issue talks in Geneva today after a 4-month break because of elections in both countries. There is no official confirmation yet that mediator Nimetz would put forward a new proposal.

President Gjorge Ivanov attends 16th Summit of Heads of State of Central and Eastern Europe in Novi Sad, Serbia. Main topics discussed at this summit will be economic and energy regional policy.