Macedonia Awaits Fresh Round of Crisis Talks

The meeting, which comes after last week's failure to strike a deal about a transitional government at the talks in Brussels, is expected to gather leaders of the four main political parties as well as the EU and US ambassadors to the country, Aivo Orav and Jess Baily.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, opposition head Zoran Zaev as well as the head of the junior ruling Democratic Union for Integration, Ali Ahmeti, and of the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, Menduh Thaci, are to attend.

The meeting was announced on Thursday by Zaev, who said he would use it to deliver the opposition deadline for a solution - the end of this month - after which he said he would not rule out the "radicalisation" of protest actions.

Zaev repeated that the opposition is determined to see Gruevski, who has been in power since 2006, step down and a transitional government without his influence prepare the country for snap elections.

The fresh talks come after the PM and opposition leader failed to reach an agreement on transition government during EU-brokered negotiations in Brussels on June 11.

Meanwhile EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn, who mediated the Brussels talkls, gave visiting Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Besimi an EU crisis report this week which calls for urgent reforms in several key areas.

"The EC report is updated with the latest developments in the country and it also includes an analysis by EC expert Reinhard Priebe, highlighting the priorities which Macedonia needs to fulfil as soon as possible," Besimi said.

Although the document has not been made public, a source close to the European Union delegation in Skopje told BIRN that it notes "serious shortcomings" in several areas...