- UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will hold separate meetings with Macedonian and Greek representatives in talks on name dispute in New York today. Nimetz is expected to present his proposal on Wednesday.

 

- On 7-9 October Ohrid will host the meeting of the ministers of defense of the countries of Southeast Europe to be attended also by representatives from the U.S. and a number of European countries.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski met with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, and EU Senior Envoy for Security and Foreign Policy Javier Solana in Brussels on Thursday. Crvenkovski stressed that the violence at the parliamentary elections could affect Macedonia’s accession to NATO, but he underlined that at the moment there are no other conditions that have to be fulfilled for NATO to issue an invitation for membership to Macedonia apart from the name dispute with Greece.

- A Macedonian delegation headed by President Branko Crvenkovski started Wednesday its 2-day visit to Brussels, in the course of which the main talking point will be the Euro-Atlantic integration and the closing preparations for the November report of the EC.

"I heard everything I needed to know from Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and so I trust there is no need for us to meet again," mediator Matthew Nimetz told the negotiators of Macedonia and Greece over the weekend. He announced for early October his new proposal, which although will not be called finite, will probably be the last from the sitting mediator.

President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski are scheduled to meet in President Crvenkovski's office at 13.30 today.    

President Branko Crvenkovski in his speech at the UN General Assembly stressed that the Greek veto on Macedonia's admission to NATO is an international precedence where a national interest of a country was presented as more important than the international law. President Crvenkovski also said the first international precedence was made when admitting Macedonia to the UN in 1993 under the provisional reference of FYROM.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski confirmed Tuesday that the Government would propose modifications to the Constitution in order to cancel the required threshold of 50 percent in the second election round of the presidential elections with the aim of preventing theft of votes and other irregularities, which have tainted all previous presidential polls.

If the name dispute with Greece is not resolved soon, the talks most probably will be frozen at least one year, President Branko Crvenkovski assessed following yesterday’s meeting with representatives of the Macedonian emigrant organizations in the Macedonian Culture Center in New York, the media report.

Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavreski said the Government would not sign a new credit arrangement with the IMF and would hereafter use only its consulting services.

Mark Griffiths, IMF head of mission for Macedonia, said the turbulences on the world money market and the inflation rise could economically destabilize Macedonia and neutralize its economic growth that the state achieved last year. Griffiths believes Macedonia will close this year with an inflation rate of 6 percent and recommended that an annual price increase of 3 percent be kept over the coming years. He advised the Macedonian government to invest in the future only in projects stimulating development.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stated yesterday that he hopes that President Branko Crvenkovski would have a chance in New York, in the talks on resolving of the name issue, “to arrive at some resolution and to offer this resolution to the public in the Republic of Macedonia”, the media report.

An EU delegation led by Pierre Mirel, director for the Western Balkans in the European Commission’s Enlargement Directorate General, arrived in Skopje to present to the Macedonian Government the EU’s remarks as regards the progress and standstill in the fulfillment of the political, economic, and other criteria.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Milososki and Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis hold brief, but efficient meeting on the fringe of forum “EU, Central Asia: Challenges in sphere of security” in Paris. Milososki and Bakoyannis agree to hold meeting within frames of next week’s UN General Assembly Session in New York.

Following the series of mutual sharp criticism, the Government and EU Ambassador to Macedonia Erwan Fouere toned down their statements yesterday. EU Ambassador Fouere underlined yesterday that the Government knows well that membership in the European Union depends on the recommendations of the European Commission and on fulfillment of the benchmarks.

At the debate "Dialogues About Macedonia" Tuesday President Branko Crvenkovski said Macedonia was in a delicate stage of the name issue negotiations. In Nimetz's latest package of ideas, he said, there is higher understanding for some of the issues important to Macedonia's positions. President Crvenkovski also said Macedonia's task now was with substantiated proposals to modify these ideas and reach a mutually acceptable solution and a fair compromise.

As regards the visit of the independent UN expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, to Greece, Macedonians in Greece say this is the first time that a senior UN delegation for human rights took interest in the minority rights of ethnic Macedonians in Greece. Representatives of Vinozito, the political organization of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, explained to Mc Dougall their situation in Greece and the absence of any minority rights. McDougall is expected to lay out her views at a press conference in Athens today.

UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues Gay McDougall will visit Greece where she will meet with representatives of various ethnic groups. She will include the Greek regions Trachia and Macedonia in her visit, especially the region around the town of Florina. McDougall will examine the problems faced by the minorities that are not recognized by the Greek Government.

Skopje, September 8 (MIA) – The Republic of Macedonia celebrates its 17th anniversary since the successful referendum, at which Macedonian citizens voted for independent and sovereign state.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn praises Macedonia’s reform achievements. But he states that Macedonia needs to make substantial effort for European Union to be able to confirm that eight benchmarks have been fulfilled. Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Bocevski stated that Macedonia had fulfilled 75 percent of eight benchmarks set.

Macedonia informed the European Union yesterday about the laws ratified so far, hoping to receive a positive report and a date for start of the negotiations for membership. Brussels wants these laws to be implemented, it wants political and reform progress, and it wants a compromise with Greece. This is the message that the three-member Macedonian parliamentary delegation received in Brussels yesterday.

Prime Minister Gruevski says in interview for Macedonian-language program of Voice of America that he does not expect serious change in U.S.’s policy toward Macedonia following presidential election. With regards to name dispute, Gruevski stressed that this is crucial and historical issue for Macedonia and that it is important that it be closed in a good and acceptable manner.

PDSH Deputy Chairman Imer Selmani will officially confirm his split with PDSH leader Menduh Thaci and promote his new party over the next few days. A senior party official said for the media that the new political party would be a center-right party. The new party will be modern and it will focus on the citizens, the family, the business, and the national issues. The name of the new party is not being revealed and neither are the names of the eminent PDSH members who will join Selmani, the media report.

The associations of the Macedonians expelled from Greece expect support from the EU bodies authorized for issues concerning discrimination throughout the world. They also expect support from associations similar to them that are discriminated in their own countries, that is, the associations of the Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia (Greece) and the associations of the Turks and Albanians in Greece.