- New Euro-ambassador Aivo Orav says that he is happy to come to Macedonia, that he is well-informed about the situation in the country and that he is to work for the good of everyone.

After the proclamation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Macedonia is in a better position yet the country should work hard on its reforms. At the same time, it should demonstrate good faith in reaching a compromise with Greece over the name issue, say Members of the European Parliament after the raporteur for Macedonia at the EP, Richard Howitt, presented the draft report on Macedonia’s progress in its European integration. Howitt’s draft resolution, which is considered to be balanced, reinstates the adjective

“Macedonian” and suggests opening of membership negotiations between Skopje and Brussels, will now be open for amendments, Dnevnik reports.

Politicians both in Macedonia and Brussels expect a heated amendment debate of the parliamentary groups led by Greek and Bulgarian deputies and lobby groups to last through 10 January. The draft resolution will be put to vote in March.

- Namibia is the 133rd country to officially recognize the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia and the diplomatic ties were established Wednesday in New York between the ambassadors of both countries to the UN, Pajo Avirovik and Wilfried Emvula.

The gradual development in the bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Macedonia in a number of areas was one of the main characteristics of 2011. Macedonian leaders expressed confidence many times that the potential of the Russian-Macedonian cooperation would continue to be realized in the interest of both nations, says the Russian agency ITAR-TASS in its recently published analysis.

Oleg Shcherbak, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, explained that the commercial and economic ties between the two countries represent some of the most important components of the bilateral relations on the whole.

“At the moment, the political leadership and the business circles both in Russia and Macedonia are turned towards an all-encompassing development of exactly these ties between the two countries, which is also confirmed by the dynamic growth of trade,” he told ITAR-TASS.

At their meeting in Skopje Friday, the Presidents of Macedonia and Serbia, Gjorge Ivanov and Boris Tadic, supported each other in the European integration processes of their countries after Brussels set Serbia an additional condition as it did to Macedonia keeping the country for three years without a decision for opening membership negotiations. Saying that hardship makes us closer, President Tadic called on Serbian politicians to take the example of their Macedonian counterparts considering that even after three years they are not discouraged.

President Ivanov said at the press conference that Macedonia WAS not discouraged by being set additional conditions and by the fact that it had been issued positive reports for three years without a date for opening talks though.

“We continue carrying out reforms and attaining European criteria, values and principles inside the country. As a country, our goal is to create Europe at home. The negotiations will be much easier then and it will be easier for us to say the Union then we are ready for membership. Although we have delays and some believe that we have missed a lot, these past three years useful reforms have been carried out,” President Ivanov said.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki on Monday and Tuesday is to visit the European institutions in Brussels and realize meetings in the European Parliament and European Commission aiming to proceed with Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

- President Gjorge Ivanov held Thursday his annual address before the Parliament. Ivanov warned that he will not allow the identity, language, culture and constitution to be debated in the future and that the judgment in The Hague confirms the credibility of our foreign policy, our conduct in the international community. Ivanov stressed that Macedonia is ready to reach a solution for the name row with Greece.

Macedonia stands a great chance to be on the agenda at the NATO Summit in Chicago next year. If that happens, following the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, it is hardly likely that Greece would decide to veto the country again as it did in Bucharest, a western diplomat says. Although the enlargement is currently not on the agenda of the next summit of the Alliance, not everything is lost considering the final agenda will be drafted in January. By then the NATO member states are expected to study the legal aspect of the judgment from The Hague, Dnevnik reports.

The same sources says that although the conclusion of NATO from the summit in Bucharest is that Macedonia will join the Alliance when it resolves the name issue, it cannot be ruled out for some member states to raise the issue of Macedonia’s membership under the reference of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

What Macedonia should do now is consult the NATO Secretary General and the member states including Greece over the possibility putting Macedonia back on the agenda, former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Walker told Dnevnik.

Macedonia started the battle for NATO membership. The government strategy is to present the new situation having resulted from the judgment of the ICJ in The Hague before the member states of the Alliance. The NATO member states will be asked to give support, assistance and perhaps advice as to what form the operation should be carried out in so Macedonia can be on the agenda at the NATO summit in Chicago.

Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki is participating in Tirana Wednesday in the meeting of the partner commission of the Adriatic Charter, whose members include Croatia and Albania, as members of NATO, and the other countries of the Western Balkans that are not members of the Alliance,  under the auspices of the USA.

Minister Poposki is set to meet the US representative and the foreign ministers of Croatia and Albania, to whom he would present the new situation following the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the run-up to the NATO summit in Chicago where Macedonia hopes to be extended an invitation for full-fledged membership.

Greece should walk out of the Interim Accord because it no longer protects British interests, said Alexandros Malias, former head of the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje and long-standing diplomat, and Professor Evangelos Kofos. They are both said to be Macedonian issue connoisseurs.

In an interview with Athens News, Malias says that this should be the response to the judgment of the ICJ in The Hague, which dismissed all Greek submissions.

“We should inform Skopje that we are immediately walking out of the Interim Accord. The court process weakened one by one all Greek arguments as regards our relations with FYROM, interpreting in a negative connotation all key clauses of the Interim Accord, including those being part of the draft agreement in the course of the Wens-Owen negotiations at Greece’s insistence,” says Malias, pointing out the limitations as regards any possible Macedonian territorial claims, inimical propaganda and usurpation of cultural legacy.

- President Gjorge Ivanov, who is taking part at the fourth summit of the Alliance of Civilizations, taking place in the Qatari capital of Doha, stated that no great country or civilization has developed with isolation but with constant cooperation and competition with other civilizations.

Ivanov takes part at the forum at the invitation of sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who visited Macedonia two months ago.

The leader of the Nea Demokratia party, Antonis Samaras, refused Thursday to meet Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on the sidelines of the congress of the European People’s Party in Marseille, France, saying he was too busy. PM Gruevski reached out a hand in order to continue building trust and dialogue with the Greek political authorities and promote good neighborly relations and regional cooperation, the Macedonian delegation informed.

To those who participated in the 20th congress of the EPP, Samaras’ failure to find time to meet the Macedonian prime minister shows that Greece is firmly on its rigid positions concerning Macedonia’s name although its officials keep saying they are for a solution, as it was stressed in the letter from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by Stavros Dimas from Samaras’ party, Dnevnik reports.

The response from Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s letter immediately after his election is seen in the same light. In his response, accent was put on the positions for erga omens, which is seen as yet another evidence of Greece’s rigid stance regarding Macedonia’s name and a proof that Samaras and his wing in the Greek government are greatly credited for it.

- Macedonian and Greek Foreign Ministers, Nikola Poposki and Stavros Dimas, shared commitment towards reaching a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue, during a meeting held Tuesday at the OSCE Ministerial Council. Poposki stressed the necessity for respect of the international law whereas his Greek counterpart declared support to the regional enlargement process.

The feeling of disappointment from Bucharest when Greece vetoed Macedonia’s accession to NATO was compensated for with the remarkable victory in The Hague Monday. Greece suffered a defeat in the court case that Macedonia initiated three years ago because of the breach of the Interim Accord with the block in Bucharest. After the judgment was pronounced, there was disbelief in the Palace of Justice, even among the Macedonian team, who did not expect to hear a crystal clear judgment in Macedonia’s favor.

“A new leaf was turned Monday in the Macedonian-Greek name dispute. This is a big day for Macedonia,” commented the representatives of the Macedonian legal team, excited that the Court practically accepted all Macedonian arguments and refuted the Greek. Thus, the announcements from Greece that the judgment would be balanced did not come true. The foreign professors that defended Macedonia in the proceedings said they would soon come to Skopje to celebrate the win.

- President Gjorgje Ivanov stated that the judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is evidence that Greece has breached the Interim Accord and disabled the Republic of Macedonia from joining NATO. Ivanov said that Greece must respect the judgment made in The Hague and support our integration in the EU and NATO.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said Monday that the judgment of ICJ is favorable for the Republic of Macedonia and extended gratitude to the court on its ruling. Gruevski said there is no need of euphoria and triumphalism because there are no winners or losers in the dispute and the judgment should be used for enhancing the cooperation and the European integration of the Republic of Macedonia.

UN mediator Matthew Nimetz said that the decision of the ICJ deserves careful study by the two Governments and urges them to view this event as an opportunity to think constructively about their mutual relationship and to consider a renewed initiative to reach a definitive solution to the name issue.

 

Greece violated Article 11 of the Interim Accord by blocking Macedonia’s accession to NATO at the Summit in Bucharest in 2008, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled Monday.

The President of the Court, Hisashi Owada, said that the Ruling was taken with 15 votes in favor and one against.

With 14 votes in favor and two against the Court decided it had jurisdiction to act on this case, thus rejecting the Greek demand to declare itself unauthorized.

- A Macedonian delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Poposki, former Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Macedonian ambassador Nikola Dimitrov will be the first to hear the judgment of the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ). The team that represents Macedonia also includes four law professors from London, Washington, Brussels and Sorbonne as well as two professors from Skopje’s Law Faculty. Former Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki submitted the suit before the ICJ in November 2008.

If the Court in the Hague convicts Greece of something, it will be a political and legal defeat for Athens, says Greek University Professor Aristotle Tziampiris, according to whom, the decision is not going to influence much the present relations between the two countries. He stressed though that the verdict to be reached by the Court in the Hague on Monday was still in the domain of speculations, Dnevnik reports.

“Considering the present political reality, I doubt that this decision is going to contribute to the resolution of the name dispute,” Tziampiris says.

The coming verdict is not commented on much in Greece yet many are those speculating that the ruling will be balanced. Politicians and media in Athens speculate that Macedonia would have its first demand met, which means the Court would declare itself competent and confirm that Greece violated Article 11 of the Interim Accord. However, its soothing for Greece that the Court would probably stay aside in the second part and will not recommend the Greek authorities not to do in the future what they did in Bucharest.

Promoting bilateral and multilateral relations between Macedonia and Japan as two friendly countries was the talking point at the meeting between Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda in Tokyo. This was the first time a Macedonian prime minister paid a visit to Japan since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1994.  It was stressed at the meeting that there was enormous, untapped potential for further promotion of the cooperation in all areas, especially in the field of commerce.

Two business forums, in Tokyo and Osaka, were organized within the framework of the visit, at which Prime Minister Gruevski presented the advantages and comparative values that the Macedonian economy offers and which may encourage Japanese investors to use Macedonia as a stepping stone for their business in Europe. He illustrated the significance that the Government attributed to the relations with Japan with the decision for opening a Macedonian Embassy in Tokyo by end 2012, expressing at the same interest in reciprocal opening of a Japanese embassy in Skopje in near future.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, for the first time in Brussels, offered Greece to support a date for EU negotiations for Macedonia and Skopje and Athens to obligate that they will solve the bilateral dispute in the so-called screening process. Greek MEPs did not comment on the proposal while some MEPs assessed this as an optimal solution for unblocking Macedonia’s European integration. According to rapporteur on Macedonia Richard Howitt, this is a new initiative from the Macedonian Government and it will be presented in the European Parliament.

In order to promote the economic relations with Singapore, a free trade agreement and an agreement on double taxation avoidance have to be signed, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at his meetings with the authorities of Singapore. At the business forum in Singapore, before some fifty companies, the government team presented the conditions Macedonia offers to new investors, its tax policy, economic zones and education.

Since 1995 when diplomatic relations between the two countries were established for the first time, this is the first official visit of a Macedonian delegation. At the meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, Gruevski presented also Macedonia’s strategic commitment to joining NATO and the EU.

“I informed him about the initiative of signing a free trade agreement and an agreement on double taxation avoidance, which should reinforce our economic cooperation,” Prime Minister Gruevski said.

Apart from the presentation of the macroeconomic indicators, the government team had talks also with the largest tour operator of Singapore about bringing tourists to Macedonia.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki on Tuesday in his address before the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee pledged the current approach of blocking to be overcome and efforts to be made in solving the name dispute, which "is of mutual interest."

Opening negotiations about Macedonia’s EU membership is going to create a positive climate of mutual trust necessary for permanent resolution of the remaining bilateral differences between our two countries, says the letter of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to his Greek counterpart Lucas Papademos.

In the run-up to the December summit of the European Council, Gruevski appeals to the Greek government to support the recommendation of the European Commission for opening negotiations and addresses the cases of the past in which opening talks for accession of a certain country to the EU has always resulted in encouraging conditions for overcoming the bilateral disputes between an EU member state and an EU candidate member state.

The Criminal Council of Skopje’s Basic Court I sentenced leader of party United for Macedonia, Ljube Boskoski, to seven years in prison for illegal financing of the pre-election campaign and abuse of his position.  

What Macedonia can expect after 5 December this year when the International Court of Justice of the UN in the Hague declares its verdict is the question analyzed by experts recently. Three years have passed since Macedonia filed the application against Greece asking that the Hague Court air its view whether Athens violated the Interim Accord when it prevented Macedonia from joining NATO at the Summit in Bucharest in 2008. Most experts Dnevnik talked to said that the arguments are on Macedonia’s side and it is real to expect the verdict in the Hague to give Macedonia strong legal arguments.

Although there are various speculations, all stress that neither party knows the verdict. Some experts that know the mechanisms of the Court say that it is possible for both parties to glimpse at parts of the verdict but not its entire content. Hence, only analyses based on speculations can be made, Dnevnik comments.

The football fans of Kosovo burned the Macedonian national flag for the second time – two years ago at a stadium in Pristina and two days ago in Kacanik. Fans of the football club Lepenec of Kacanik set the Macedonian flag on fire during the match against Drita of Gnjilane.

As Kosovo media reported, this incident represents a response to the “racist chanting against Albanians” in Prilep during the friendly match between Macedonia and Albania.

The video footage shows fans of Lepenec bouncing and chanting slogans about ethnic Albania while the Macedonian national flag is burning. About a dozen photographs of the game also show placards with anti-Macedonian messages, such as “2012 is not the end of the world, but the end of Macedonia.”

The Republic of Macedonia and the Russian Federation signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of rail transport of passengers and goods in Moscow Wednesday. The signing of this document is going to simplify border, customs and other formalities and is expected to raise the economic cooperation between the two countries.

“This opens up doors for higher export of goods from Macedonia to Russia,” Transport Minister Mile Janakieski said.

His Russian counterpart Igor Levitin said he was pleased with the agreement, which is going to raise the transport of goods and passengers between the two countries.

Opening EU membership negotiations and simultaneous resolution of the name issue appear at this moment as the most logical solution for unblocking the process of Macedonia’s European integration, Nova Makedonija comments. The idea that has been highlighted on a few occasions by Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki was reiterated in a meeting between Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his Austrian counterpart Werner Faymann. Diplomatic sources and analysts say that this will require tremendous political will on the part of Greece yet nothing of the sort has so far been signalized.

“In the process of their accession to the Union, most EU member states had bilateral disputes with another country, already an EU member state. In all those cases, opening accession talks with simultaneous resolution of the problem was allowed. Those negotiations always turned out successful,” Prime Minister Gruevski said.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki sent a letter to his Greek counterpart Stavros Dimas. Poposki writes that the Slovenian-Croatian model should be applied in the Macedonian-Greek dispute and this would make Greece help Macedonia’s EU integration.