Hahn on Mission to Jump-Start Macedonia Talks

Commissioner Hahn arrived on a rescue mission in Skopje on Tuesday after opposition leader Zoran Zaev last Wednesday said crisis talks with the government had failed and the EU- brokered deal on snap elections was dead in the water.

In advance of his arrival, Hahn's office said the talks were clearly in a critical phase and that there was no time to waste, calling on leaders to act "responsibly and constructively" and show more good will in trying to overcome the crisis.

"I am here to work and to facilitate a deal in order to help the country to keep its Euro-Atlantic perspective alive? Everybody should be aware that it's not about the personal interests," he said.

"It's about the state, taking responsibility and working in the interest of the people for the future," Hahn added to Telma TV on Monday evening on arrival at Skopje.

Hahn arrived shortly after the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, reached Macedonia earlier on Monday.

This was Hahn's second visit to Macedonia this summer and a third direct attempt to bring Macedonia's warring leaders closer to a solution on the negotiating table.

During his first visit, on June 2, leaders of the for main political parties, under Hahn's mediation, reached an agreement to hold early elections by next April, preceded by a transition period that would see key reforms put in place to ensure free and fair elections.

However, the parties subsequently failed to agree on the key issue, which is whether Gruevski should step down during the transitional period.

After Gruevski avoided setting a fresh date for new talks, Zaev on Wednesday said that the opposition now considered the June 2 deal null and void.