- President Gjorge Ivanov in Sunday’s interview with internet portal MKD.MK expressed regret that the latest attempt aimed at solving the crisis failed a day before the deadline for submitting lists for the upcoming local elections expired. He revealed that his engagement in settling the ongoing political differences hasn't ended with the leaders' meeting and the proposal for establishing an expert commission about the events of 24 December but he had at least one more meeting with PM Gruevski and opposition leader Branko Crvenkovski and few telephone conversations that ended unsuccessfully.  Ivanov stressed that SDSM’s decision for boycott is not in the interest of citizens or the party itself.

- European Commissioner Stefan Fule sent Thursday a letter to PM Nikola Gruevski and SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski, telling them that the solution to the political crisis is in Skopje. Fule wrote that the European Union does not give up on Macedonia but the political dialogue must be reintroduced and for now, he is to avoid visiting Skopje and he is to wait on the creativity of Macedonian politicians. PM Nikola Gruevski immediately responded to Fule’s letter, expressing regret over the difficulties in overcoming political challenges deriving from the events of 24 December. Gruevski stressed that he is also aware of the risk they present to the above mentioned possibility in terms of the European agenda but added that the government has done its best to overcome this situation. Meanwhile, SDSM Secretary General Andrej Petrov is paying a visit to Brussels to try and explain his party’s standpoints.

Concrete projects from the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture and information technologies were the topics discussed at the meeting between Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Tuesday. According to Minister Saraqini, the visit of a large Hungarian delegation including businessmen to Macedonia at the end of May had also been confirmed.

Parliament elected Talat Xhaferi as Minister of Defense, Fatmir Besimi as Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs and Tahir Hani as Minister of Local Government at its session Monday. The mini government reshuffle affected only ministers from the ranks of BDI considering now former Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Teuta Arifi and Local Government Minister Nevzat Bejta resigned as MPs in order to run for mayors of Tetovo and Gostivar respectively.

Opposition PDSH demanded that not just the ministers but also BDI leader Ali Ahmeti should resign.

In the absence of the Macedonian opposition bloc in Parliament, only Dostoinstvo leader Stojance Angelov countered the proposal of appointing Talat Xhaferi as minister of defense, urging the MPs of VMRO-DPMNE not to vote for the former commander of the NLA (the paramilitary organization of the ethnic Albanian insurgents during the conflict of 2001).

Prime Minister Gruevski briefly explained why Xhaferi, Besimi and Hani should be the new government ministers and stated that the biographies of the new ministers had been provided to the MPs.

The decision of the Macedonian opposition front not to run in the local elections is going to prove fatal for democracy in Macedonia. Also, it will aggravate the political crisis and do irreparable damage to Macedonia’s foreign policy. These are the assessments of the political analysts following the decision of the opposition led by SDSM to definitely boycott the local elections after the leaders of the largest parties, Nikola Gruevski and Branko Crvenkovski, failed to reach an agreement. On the one hand, Crvenkovski insisted on an agreement on early parliamentary elections and, on the other hand, Gruevski ruled out that possibility and called on the opposition to measure its strengthen in the local elections on 24 March.

- At Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki’s invitation, his Serbian counterpart Ivan Mrkic will be paying Monday a one day official visit to Macedonia. As the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, apart from the talks between the two ministers, an agreement on cooperation in the European integration between Macedonia and Serbia should also be signed.

- Montenegro and Macedonia enjoy excellent political relations and they share the same priorities, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki and Montenegrin counterpart Igor Luksic in Skopje Thursday. Poposki and Luksic discussed about the Euro-integration as well as initiatives for advancing the cooperation between the two countries.

The government and the opposition remained their stiff positions following the visit of Stefano Sannino, Director of the Directorate General for Enlargement of the EU, and a group of MEPs to Skopje, Dnevnik comments.

The opposition led by SDSM is determined not to run in the local elections on 24 March without an agreement on holding early parliamentary elections. Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski and his coalition partner Ali Ahmeti are just as determined not to hold early general elections. They have again invited Branko Crvenkovski to participate in the local elections for the benefit of the country.

- Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki met Tuesday with MEPs Jerzy Buzek,Tunne Kelam, Miroslav Mikolasik and Laszlo Tokes who advised that Macedonia must demonstrate  unity because wrong signals are sent out with the crisis in the Parliament. MEPs say that Macedonia is on good track in the Euro-integration process and therefore it is necessary for the opposition to return to the Parliament and start the political dialogue.

The European Union disapproves of the decision of the governing partners VMRO-DPMNE and BDI to modify the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure without a broader consensus and in the absence of the opposition MPs. The EU has voiced its stance on the same day the governing majority voted through in Parliament the need for modifying the Rules of Procedure through a shortened procedure, Utrinski vesnik reports.

Restricting discussions, according to the agreement between VMRO-DPMNE and BDi, is going to pertain to discussions about changing the Constitutions, adopting the budget, and passing EU agenda and economic laws but is not going to pertain to discussions about the defenders’ law. Opposition SDSM, PDSH and RDK said that with this initiative the government majority hit the pinnacle of their authoritarian rule. VMRO-DPMNE, on the other hand, hopes that the new Rules of Procedure will be adopted by early March before Parliament begins its recess preceding the local elections.

The implementation of the ongoing projects of the Government backed by the EBRD, as well as the possibilities for promoting cooperation in the direction of supporting strategic projects that the Government is going to carry out in the period to come were the topics discussed by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the President of the European Bank for Development Promotion Suma Chakrabarti.

According to the government announcement, Gruevski and Chakrabarti agreed that in recent years the EBRD had provided substantial assistance for the Macedonian economy, financing a number of sustainable energy and energy efficiency projects, transport projects through construction and reconstruction of roads and railways, and providing direct or indirect support through partner banks, and through investments in agriculture, agribusiness and small and medium enterprises.

- Upon the invitation of Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, a group of renowned MEPs are to pay a visit to Macedonia from 11 to 13 February. The delegation of the European Parliament will include former president of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, Tunne Kelam from Estonia, Miroslav Mikolasik from Slovakia and Laszlo Tokes from Romania. The delegation will hold meetings with the central leadership and the progress of the Republic of Macedonia in meeting the EU criteria will be discussed.

The local elections on 24 March will most probably be elections with the largest number of independent candidates for mayors and council members in the past 15 years. Following the announcements of a boycott by SDSM and their smaller coalition partners, signatures are being collected for more than 30 independent candidates for mayors and for just as many council member lists. Their number is expected to double by the application deadline Friday, Dnevnik reports.

Analysis and opinion poll experts say that as many as 90 percent of Macedonian voters mostly vote for the candidates of the political parties and that independent lists of candidates score little or no success in elections. However, they say the political situation before the elections in March changes the electorate’s course and indicates that on 24 March independent candidates for mayors and council members may be the new election phenomenon.

Returning Member of Parliament mandates is a process that is going to take long and waste precious time. Following the announcement of the opposition that they will renounce their 4-year mandates unless the government agrees to hold parliamentary elections together with the local, analysts say this would not be a solution to the political crisis.

Constitutional Law Professor Tanja Karakamiseva-Jovanovska explains that apart from the debate in Parliament, the procedure at the State Election Commission is also going to take quite a while and also there may not be additional elections to fill the vacant seats.

“The solution for getting out of this situation would then be sought in agreement with the provisions of the election law, whereupon Parliament would have qualified majority and legitimacy to decide all issues,” Karakamiseva-Jovanovska explains.

The stance of the opposition has remained unchanged. They believe that after what happened on 24 December last year, there is no democracy and therefore seek early parliamentary elections together with the local. At the same time, governing VMRO-DPMNE suspect that the threats of their political opponent of an election boycott coupled with their frequent protest marches in various forms are part of the strategy of the opposition for full mobilization of their members before the local showdown.

At the end of the protest car convoy on Sunday that started in the Skopje quarter of Aerodrom and ended outside the Government, SDSM Secretary General Andrej Petrov said that the opposition had absolutely no intention of running in the local elections.

- President Gjorge Ivanov at the Munich Security Conference said that NATO has made Macedonia a Guinness candidate, since the country has already produced 14 Membership Action Plans, along with 18 rotations of Afghanistan peacekeepers, adding that the country shares the same commitments and risks as other members, but without any privileges.

 

An announcement of a new meeting with the name dispute mediator, holding talks about crucial and delicate issues as well as crystallized positions on both sides is the result of the last round of name issue talks in New York. According to mediator Matthew Nimetz and negotiators Adamantios Vassilakis and Zoran Jolevski, a new dynamic has been agreed upon in the process and a new meeting will not be long waited for since it has already been called in a month. This frequency of meetings is brought in connection with the European Commission’s spring report on Macedonia’s progress, Dnevnik comments.

Following his 2-hour meeting with the two negotiators in New York, mediator Nimetz said they talked about the essence of the problem.

“Both countries’ positions have crystallized. Both capitals worked hard to see if an agreement can be reached. And also there were reaction to my ideas,” Nimetz said.

With reference to speculation in media regarding visa suspension for MK, the Embassy of Sweden wishes to point out the following:
”Sweden strongly supports the introduction of a suspension mechanism into the existing set of regulations. Contrary to the reports in some media there is nothing in the Swedish position that has changed in this regard. The internal EU deliberations regarding the text on this mechanism are still ongoing. As it stands, the text for the mechanism is neutrally worded and not specifically aimed at the asylum trend from the Western Balkans. Importantly, Swedish support for the introduction of the suspension mechanism does not imply that Sweden will automatically be in favor of its immediate use and the Swedish Minister has not written to this end to his EU colleagues as has been stated in the media.
The Swedish Government is very well aware of how important the newly accorded visa free regime is for the citizens and countries of the Western Balkan but the manner in which this freedom has been used is not acceptable. Sweden is one of the EU member states most affected by the asylum seeker trend with appr. 20.000 applicants from the region since the introduction of the visa free regime began in 2009. Sweden is worried about the high number of asylum seekers from the Western Balkans, of whom in principle no one is granted residence permit. It is our hope that the current situation in the Western Balkans can be dealt with as soon as possible by a combination of short-term and long term measures. The latter would include further efforts to improve the social situation of minorities and vulnerable groups."

The Macedonian Government is going to hold a joint session with a foreign government for the first time. The meeting with the Serbian Government that, according to the initial plan, will be held in Belgrade in May has been agreed upon by the prime ministers of the two countries at their meeting in Skopje Monday. According to their statements afterward, the aim of the meetings in this format is providing an impetus to the development of relations between the two countries, expediting important projects and improving bilateral relations.

Government Spokesman Aleksandar Gjorgjiev said the meetings would try to promote economic cooperation and trade, table infrastructure projects of broader regional relevance, energy projects and possibilities for joint promotion on third markets for certain products, prepare a joint tourist offer and negotiate cooperation in agriculture, medicine and education.

“From a political point of view, it is an appropriate way to promote good neighborly relations and bilateral cooperation. Therefore, we as Government are interested in holding such forums with all our neighbors. The initial steps have been made with Serbia and Albania, as Bulgaria has also shown interest. All these processes have our full attention,” Gjorgjiev said.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki met Tuesday with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and established that the two countries have a history of good relationships, there are no unsolved issues. Lavrov said that Russia opposes any redrawing of borders in Europe, in particular, in the Balkans, and reminded that much blood was shed in the Balkans and nobody wants to see recurrence of such scenarios. At the meeting Poposki urged for bolstering cooperation with Russia in economic sphere, opportunity for direct Russian investments.

- Mediator Matthew Nimetz will have a new round of talks with the representatives of both countries, Zoran Jolevski and Adamantios Vassilakis, on January 29-30 in New York. Macedonia expects for Nimetz to intensify his engagement and step up the name negotiations, President Gjorge Ivanov said ahead of the new round of talks in New York.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov suggested Sunday an expert commission made up of five members – two of whom would be proposed by the government, two by the opposition and one by the head of state – to clear up the events in Parliament of 24 December as a way out of the political crisis. President Ivanov provided the proposal to Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski. He put forward his proposal only a few days after EU Enlargement Commissioner Fule’s visit to Macedonia, at which he is said to have suggested that the situation be overcome in a similar fashion. SDSM refuted the proposal immediately.

Early parliamentary elections should not be held this spring. However, a new and serious attempt should be made at holding a second meeting between Nikola Gruevski and Branko Cvenkovski with specific proposals and decisions that would make sure the opposition returns to Parliament. Macedonia must not miss the chance that Brussels offers: being set a date for opening membership talks with the EU in June after making small progress in the name issue talks with Greece. These are the highlights of the messages that EU Commissioner Stefan Fule told the two leaders during his brief visit to Skopje Wednesday as regards the political situation in the country and that have been communicated to Dnevnik by domestic diplomatic and party sources. VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM have not yet issued official statements revealing details about what exactly Enlargement Commissioner Fule told them.

Commissioner Fule paid Macedonia Wednesday an unannounced yet planned visit. The reason for it is the spring report of the European Commission about Macedonia’s progress in the process of European integration, which will be useful at the June summit of the EU expected to be crucial for the start of Macedonia’s EU accession talks in the autumn. The direct motive of the visit is the political crisis created when Branko Crvenkovski pulled the SDSM MPs out of Parliament following the incident on 24 December and has since been demanding early parliamentary elections as a condition for not boycotting the local poll scheduled for 24 March.

All political stakeholders in Macedonia should focus their energy on the European agenda and obtaining a positive evaluation concerning Macedonia’s good neighborly relations in the spring report of the European Commission. With such an appeal, as diplomatic sources from Brussels told Dnevnik, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule paid an announced visit to Macedonia Wednesday. A day after the failed meeting between Prime Minister and VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski and SDSM chairman Branko Crvenkovski, Commissioner Fule had two separate meetings with the two in Skopje where he also met President Gjorge Ivanov.

As the European Commission informed, the preparations for the spring report of the European Commission were the talking point at the meetings. In its brief press release after the meeting, the Commission said that Mr. Fule had useful talks and would again visit Skopje in the context of the High Level Accession Dialogue. Diplomatic sources from Brussels say that his visit is not part of his usual contacts.

- European Commissioner Stefan Fule paid an unannounced visit to Skopje and met with President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski. The European Commission confirmed the visit and briefly said that the Commissioner had useful discussions with his interlocutors. Fule will return to Skopje soon in the context of the High Level Accession Dialogue. 

No agreement was reached after Tuesday’s one-hour meeting held between PM Nikola Gruevski and SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski. Following the meeting, Gruevski stated that Crvenkovski put forward an ultimatum, reiterating the demand for organizing early parliamentary polls alongside local elections, which "is unacceptable for VMRO-DPMNE.". VMRO-DPMNE, he added, will prepare for local elections because SDSM is not the only opposition party in Macedonia. Crvenkovski is disappointed because Gruevski acted as though nothing happened on 24 December and proposed the opposition to return to the Parliament in order for the dialogue to continue. Crvenkovski said that the country is in a political crisis and the only way out is early parliamentary elections.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki is paying a working visit Monday and Tuesday to the European institutions in Brussels and one of the meetings will be held with MEP Richard Howitt, with whom he is to discuss about Macedonia’s progress in meeting the European criteria. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the first reading of the report on Macedonia’s progress will be held in the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The two largest political parties, VMRO-DPMNE and SDSM, will have to meet and discuss the political situation in the country before the local elections on 24 March, experts say in  view of the fact that for three weeks there has  been no initiative from the main political stakeholders for resolution of the political crisis. In their view, the gridlock created by SDSM’s insistence on holding early parliamentary elections as a condition for their running in the local elections may be overcome provided VMRO-DPMNE as a party most trusted by the citizens initiates talks irrespective of whether in or out of institutions.

“A meeting at a party level has to be initiated first considering the parties act based on their political platforms, which are crucial in polling votes. The level at which this meeting occurs is less relevant. What matters though is that there are guarantees that what is agreed upon will be put into practice. If parties wish to demonstrate that they are very serious, it is their leaders that should appear at that meeting. The initiative for talks should come from Nikola Gruevski, leader of VMRO-DPMNE, the political party that won the last elections and is most trusted based on all opinion polls,” sociology professor Gjorgji Tonovski comments.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule suggested in a letter to Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos a new framework that would give the Commission direct insight into the name issue negotiations. Utrinski vesnik has learned that this would be a trilateral meeting of Commissioner Fule, Greek Minister Avramopoulos and Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki.

Deutsche Welle has reported that the European Commissioner has requested of Avramopoulos to appoint his personal envoy, a man of trust, and informed that Commissioner Fule appointed Stefano Sannino, Director General for Enlargement of the EU, as his personal envoy to the trilateral meetings. Fule says in the letter that the goal is building on the conclusions on Macedonia from the December summit of the Council of the European Union.

The European Commission refused to say Wednesday whether Fule sent letters to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia and Greece about the trilateral meeting. Peter Stano, Fule’s spokesman, neither confirmed nor denied Deutsche Welle’s reports.