GRUEVSKI AND AHMETI BREAK ICE
admin1 – March 8, 2007 – 2:17pm

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and BDI leader Ali Ahmeti met in Skopje yesterday afternoon. Gruevski told Ahmeti at the meeting that the demands for adoption of a law for the NLA members and voting in of a Government in accordance with the Badinter principle are unacceptable to him, but he said that he is willing to discuss BDI's other demands, the media report.

 
SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE NEGOTIATES TAKEOVER OF 53% OF OHRIDSKA BANKA SHARES
admin1 – March 7, 2007 – 1:56pm
SG logo

Société Générale announced today that it negotiated a takeover with a group of shareholders in possession of 53 percent of Ohridska banka's capital within the framework of the public offer.

 
MACEDONIAN AFFAIRS, Vol. VI, No.1: ARABIC MANUSCRIPTS IN MACEDONIA
admin1 – March 6, 2007 – 12:43pm

The Koran, copied in Lerin in 1859
Marijana Kavcic

Arabic Manuscripts and their Significance

In the rich cultural treasury of Macedonia there is a specific heritage of great value that takes a special place, a heritage which is yet to be fully researched and presented to the professional and larger public: the Arabic manuscripts. Created with the spreading of Islam, in the various places and in the various periods of history, the Arabic manuscripts, with the richness of their contents, give evidence of the high achievements in the areas of spirituality, philosophy, culture, science, and in the other fields of life in the Arabo-Islamic civilization space. However, they also testify about the permanent intellectual exchange between the East and the West and the freedom of mutual influences even in the time that was mostly characterized with the constant conflicts between the Christianity and the Islam.

 
GRUEVSKI AGREES TO MEET WITH AHMETI IN PRESENCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
admin1 – March 5, 2007 – 3:45pm

The Government is prepared to accept a list of laws that would be ratified with a Badinter majority and it agrees to restructure of the assembly Committee for Relations Among the Communities. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski also agrees to a meeting with BDI leader Ali Ahmeti in the presence of representatives of the international community. The prime minister already informed Ali Ahmeti of this. Ruling coalition partners VMRO-DPMNE, NSDP, and PDSH yesterday discussed a strategy for improvement of the political climate in the country. They held a meeting in an excellent atmosphere at which they ironed out their political differences.

 
SLOVENIA BECOMING CHIEF PROMOTER OF MACEDONIA FOR EUROPEAN UNION
admin1 – March 1, 2007 – 3:50pm

At a time when Macedonia is expecting to receive a date for start of the negotiations for membership in the EU and an invitation for membership in NATO, the country needs political stability and constructive dialogue among the political parties, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa concluded at their meeting yesterday.

 
SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER JANSA ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO MACEDONIA
admin1 – February 28, 2007 – 11:43am
PM Jansa - PM Gruevski

Politicians in Macedonia should not be divided as regards the country's national interests, such as integration into the EU and NATO, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa advised yesterday. He called on the political parties to continue the dialogue and cooperate.

 
HeadLine
admin1 – February 27, 2007 – 4:02pm

•Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa arrives on two-day official visit to Macedonia.

 
Interview with Zoran Petrov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs with Macedonian Diplomatic Bulletin
admin1 – February 27, 2007 – 3:55pm

Zoran Petrov, Deputy FM DIPLOMAT WITH JOURNALIST PHILOSOPHY

- Mr. Petrov, could you give us a brief summary of your engagements as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs?

- Under the law, the Deputy Minister heads the Ministry when the Minister is absent or not in a position to perform their duties. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, due to the nature of the post, is the most frequently absent Minister, which means that comparatively I am one of the most burdened Deputy Ministers. In addition to my everyday financial and personnel-related duties, as well as my regular contacts with the diplomatic corps, my job description also includes a series of engagements in the Government and the government bodies, as well as the Parliament and its committees. I am also standing in for the Minister whenever he is on a trip, mostly attending multilateral conferences where Macedonia should be represented at ministerial level.

 
ALBANIAN PRESIDENT MOISIU SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT KOSOVO
admin1 – February 27, 2007 – 2:56pm
Crvenkovski-Moisiu

Martti Ahtisaari's plan is a good basis for resolving of the status of Kosovo, which is especially important for securing peace and stability in the region, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski assessed following the meeting with Albanian President Alfred Moisiu.

 
THIRTY FIVE POLICE OFFICERS AND CUSTOMS OFFICIALS DETAINED FOR TAKING BRIBES
admin1 – February 26, 2007 – 3:28pm

A total of 35 police officers and customs officials were detained in the "Skopje" Remand Prison for taking bribes. Six individuals employed at the Deve Bair, Medzitlija, and Bogorodica border crossings will stand trial on bail. The court made this decision following the two-day long interrogation of approximately 40 individuals who were detained on Friday under suspicion of taking bribes at the border crossings. The questioning of the 41 suspects started on Saturday morning, when the detainees were brought to the court under strong police security. Three investigating judges questioned the detainees. The procedure ended on Sunday morning, when the individuals against whom the court ruled a 30-day detention were transferred to the prison in Sutka.

 
50 MACEDONIAN POLICEMEN AND CUSTOMS OFFICERS ARRESTED
admin1 – February 23, 2007 – 2:47pm

Fifty Macedonian policemen and customs officers, working at several border crossings, were taken into custody this morning in a special police action, electronic media report. They were tracked with special equipment on suspicion of abusing their official position and taking bribe. Interior Ministry sources say the action is still in progress and the number of the arrested may further rise.

 
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER KONEVSKA-TRAJKOVSKA SENDS FIRM MESSAGE IN BRUSSELS
admin1 – February 22, 2007 – 1:29pm
konevska - trajkovska

Macedonia's path to the EU leads via Ohrid and the country must demonstrate political maturity and consensus over the next few months. This is the message that Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska conveyed to the European officials in the European Political Center in Brussels on Tuesday.

 
BDI WAITING FOR INVITATION FROM PRIME MINISTER GRUEVSKI
admin1 – February 21, 2007 – 2:50pm

The Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) is prepared to enter the Government and accept a possible invitation from Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, senior BDI sources told "Vreme" unofficially.

 
HeadLine
admin1 – February 20, 2007 – 12:33pm

•Assembly votes on changes in Government make-up. Imer Aliu to be new deputy prime minister for implementation of Framework Agreement.

 
GRUEVSKI: THERE IS POLITICAL DIALOGUE, ESPECIALLY IN PARLIAMENT
admin1 – February 16, 2007 – 1:14pm

The thesis that there is no political dialogue has been wrongly postulated. There is political dialogue, especially in the Parliament, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said yesterday, responding to questions from the members of the Rotary Club in Macedonia.

 
NATO WANTS MORE REFORMS OF MACEDONIA
admin1 – February 15, 2007 – 11:57am
Gruevski-de Hoop Scheffer

Year 2007 is a crucial year for Macedonia for implementation of the reforms. By ending the year successfully, we will give our friends in NATO a chance to invite us to join the Alliance at the next NATO summit, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said in Brussels yesterday following his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the session of the North Atlantic Council.

 
GOVERNMENT PROPOSES EUROPEAN DAY IN PARLIAMENT
admin1 – February 14, 2007 – 11:46am

The Government took seriously EU Commissioner for Expansion Olli Rehn's messages and remarks concerning the delay in the reforms in Macedonia. A full analysis of the visit has been made and the activities related to the country's accession to the European Union will be intensified over the coming period.

 
GERMAN CHANCELLOR MERKEL PRAISES PROGRESS OF MACEDONIA
admin1 – February 12, 2007 – 12:57pm
Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the progress of Macedonia, Croatia, and the other countries in the region at the opening of the international conference on security in Munich on Saturday. She called on the international community, especially the EU, to demonstrate bigger responsibility for these countries so that "we do not retrogress".

 
250 POTENTIAL INVESTORS TAKE INTEREST IN INVESTMENT CAMPAIGN
admin1 – February 9, 2007 – 1:39pm
Minister Tashkovich

In three weeks since the start of the government campaign for attracting foreign investments, "Invest in Macedonia - New Business Heaven in Europe", about 250 companies turned to the Macedonian authorities asking more detailed information about Macedonia's investment opportunities, while 64 million reactions to the campaign have so far been noted.

"The businessmen from Turkey, Germany, Slovenia, Greece and Australia are the most interested," said the Minister without Portfolio responsible for foreign investments, Gligor Tashkovich, addressing the representatives of the companies from the American Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia.

 
HeadLine
admin1 – February 8, 2007 – 12:47pm

•EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn arrives in Skopje.

 
UNITED STATES WANTS MORE THAN REFORMS IN DEFENSE
admin1 – February 7, 2007 – 2:52pm

Rosemary DiCarlo, US deputy assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, requested of the Western Balkan countries progress in the political sphere, at the minister's conference of the Adriatic and Baltic groups, which was held in Tallinn, Estonia. DiCarlo said that the reforms in the defense are progressing well, stressing that the future of the Western Balkans lies in the Euro-Atlantic family.

 
PRESIDENT CRVENKOVSKI: PROPOSAL OF AHTISAARI DOES NOT THREATEN INTERESTS OF MACEDONIA
admin1 – February 6, 2007 – 3:45pm

"The resolutions proposed by Martti Ahtisaari as regards the final status of Kosovo do not threaten the national and state interests of Macedonia. The process of defining the document is continuing. The two sides are expected to submit proposals, after which we will get the final resolution for Kosovo. The good thing for us is that the demarcation of the border, which was one of the open issues, will start," President Branko Crvenkovski said at the end of his visit to Tetovo yesterday.

 
GRUEVSKI: PROPOSAL OF AHTISAARI ACCEPTABLE TO MACEDONIA
admin1 – February 5, 2007 – 11:29am
Gruevski-Thaci

UN Special Representative for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari's proposed resolution for the final status of Kosovo is acceptable to Macedonia, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said after the meeting with Hashim Thaci, leader of the Kosovo opposition and member of Kosovo's negotiating team.

 
INTERIOR MINISTRY DOES NOT EXPECT DESTABILIZATION OF SECURITY SITUATION
admin1 – February 2, 2007 – 2:28pm

Protests are possible by Albanians from Macedonia as support for the Kosovars if Kosovo does not receive independence, but no armed groups are mobilizing in the former crisis regions in the eve of today's presentation of UN's proposal for the status of this province. The security services claim that there are no real threats at the moment for destabilization of Kosovo and spilling over of the crisis to Macedonia.

 
NATO GIVES MACEDONIA ROLE IN FUTURE KOSOVO
admin1 – February 1, 2007 – 2:34pm

Macedonia's partners in NATO recommend to Macedonia that it get involved in the processes in Kosovo. This was the message that Macedonian Defense Minister Lazar Elenovski received in Washington yesterday. "Dnevnik" has learned unofficially that the role that Macedonia could play in future Kosovo is to assist the transformation of the Kosovo Protection Corps.

 
ONLY MOBILKOM AUSTRIA BIDS FOR THIRD MOBILE OPERATOR
admin1 – January 31, 2007 – 2:05pm

Mobilkom Austria is the only company interested in the Macedonian Government's offer for granting a third mobile operator concession. The bid was opened today at the Agency for Electronic Communications of Macedonia (AEC). Mobilkom Austria's agent was present at the opening.

 
HeadLine
admin1 – January 30, 2007 – 1:15pm

•Prime Minister Gruevski on official visit to Estonia.

•President Crvenkovski meets with EU senior officials in Brussels.

 
SCHEFFER: PARTIES AND PARLIAMENT IN MACEDONIA MUST FUNCTION NORMALLY
admin1 – January 30, 2007 – 12:18pm
Crvenkovski-Scheffer

The lack of political dialogue in Macedonia damages the country's image in a key year for membership in NATO and start of the negotiations for membership in the EU, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer concluded in Brussels yesterday. They dedicated most of their meeting precisely to the political disagreements in the country.

 
HeadLine
admin1 – January 29, 2007 – 4:17pm

•President Crvenkovski on two-day official visit to NATO and EU headquarters in Brussels.

 
SDSM OFFERS PACKAGE FOR WAY OUT OF POLITICAL CRISIS, GRUEVSKI OPPOSES
admin1 – January 29, 2007 – 3:32pm

Macedonia is entering a political crisis. There is no dialogue among the parties, as a result of which the relations among the key institutions are strained. The Parliament debates insignificant issues and two parties announced that they would withdraw from the Assembly. This was the assessment that SDSM Chairwoman Radmila Sekerinska presented on Friday. She proposed a package of four resolutions for a way out of the deadlock in the dialogue and for return to the basic political processes.