Hahn on Mission to Rescue Macedonia Crisis Talks

Commissioner Hahn is expected to arrive on a rescue mission in Macedonia early next week, his office announced.

The visit comes after opposition leader Zoran Zaev on Wednesday said that crisis talks with the government had failed and that the brokered snap election deal was dead in the water.

Hahn's office told Meta news agency that the EU expects Macedonian leaders to act "responsibly and constructively" and show more good will in trying to overcome the crisis that the country is facing.

Hahn's visit coincides with the announced visit by the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, which is seen as another chance for the embattled Macedonian leaders to strike a deal on the negotiating table.

Nuland is set to arrive on Monday July 13 for talks with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski as well as with opposition chief Zaev.

After Gruevski avoided setting a fresh date for talks for several days, Zaev on Wednesday said that the opposition now considered the June 2 deal on snap elections by next April null and void. This deal was reached with Hahn's mediation.

The deal envisaged early elections preceded by a transitional period, but the two sides have failed to agree on the details of the government that would run the country until then.

"We tried to reach a deal to overcome the crisis in a peaceful and civilized way but Gruevski does not want this and deliberately stalled the process. The June 2 deal is off. There will be no elections in April 2016 because they cannot happen without the opposition," Zaev said.

Gruevski's ruling VMRO DPMNE party responded by accusing him of waging a destructive policy.

"They have proven that only personal and party interests...