All News on Politics in Macedonia
Macedonia MPs Monitor Secret Police Amid Opposition Absence
With nearly all opposition MPs still boycotting parliament, the commission overseeing the secret police - which was intended to be dominated by opposition legislators - got underway, chaired by an MP from the ruling VMRO DPMNE party, Pavle Sazdov, and adopted its rules of procedure.
Migrants Trapped in Balkan 'No-man's Land', Amnesty
Refugees seeking to enter Western Europe are routinely subjected to unlawful push-backs and ill-treatment by police on the Macedonian border with Greece and on the Serbian border with Macedonia, a new report by Amnesty International says.
Amnesty accuses Balkans of abusing EU-bound migrants
Amnesty International on July 7 accused Balkan countries of mistreating migrants passing through their territories on the way to the European Union, saying people fleeing war were being "shamefully let down".
Fresh Talks on Macedonia Crisis Put on Hold
After optimistic reports of a way out of the political crisis in Macedonia, fresh crisis talks planned for Friday have been cancelled.
Region's Police Target Illegal Migrant Traffickers
Police directors of Serbia, Hungary, Austria and Germany, meeting on Thursday in Belgrade, agreed to conduct more joint actions to stop illegal migrants and target the cross-border migrant smugglers.
Besides joint patrols on the borders of Serbia with Hungary and Serbia with Macedonia, modern thermal imaging cameras will be used.
Macedonia Halts Controversial Ad Campaigns
Macedonia's embattled government is putting on hold its controversial advertising campaign, which critics call a tool to control and reward favoured media.
Among the campaigns put on hold are "Say No to Drugs," "Smoking Kills," "Eat Healthily," "Educate Yourself", "Have a Third Child," "Read Books," "Invest in Macedonia, and "Explore Macedonia, You are Macedonia."
Albania Arrests Terror Suspect Wanted in Italy
Albanian police on Wednesday arrested Baki Coku, saying he was the subject of an international warrant issued by Interpol Roma and was suspected of belonging to an organization "whose goal was to carry terrorist acts.
"His arrest was carried out with the aim of extradition [to Italy] and was part of an international anti-terror operation," the Albanian police added.
Macedonia's Head Spy Hunter Calls Lustration 'Success'
Tome Adziev, the head of Macedonia's Lustration Commission, the state office for rooting out former secret police collaborators, told BIRN that he rejected a recent European Commission report that pinpointed "serious shortcomings" in the process.
"It is based on insufficient data," Adziev said.
Fresh Macedonia Crisis Talks End in Logjam
In a short press statement issued after the meeting, Macedonia's four main party leaders said only that they had met to discuss details about the government that will prepare snap elections.
The deal was agreed on June 2 with the mediation of the EU Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn.
Serbian-Hungarian patrol at Serbia-Macedonia border
Serbian and Hungarian police officers started patrolling the border between Serbia and Macedonia together on Monday, Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said.
Stefanovic told reporters that 10 Hungarian policemen are taking part in the four patrols equipped with thermal vision cameras at Serbia's southern border, so as to block illegal migrants.
Collective center for migrants to open in Presevo
Serbia's labor and defense ministers Aleksandar Vulin and Bratislav Gasic on Monday spoke with migrants in Presevo, southern Serbia.
Fresh Crisis Talks Expected in Macedonia
Macedonia's warring political leaders hold a new meeting on Monday in the hope of reaching an agreement on a transition government that will lead the country into early elections due to take place by next April at the latest.
The key question is whether Prime Minister and VMRO DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski will step down ahead of the polls.
Greece and FYROM discuss trust-building measures
The reopening of a border crossing used by communist general Markos Vafiadis during Greece?s civil war and the restoration of a 19th century railway service are two of 11 confidence-building measures discussed between Greece and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which remain estranged over a name dispute.
Turkey leadership in Balkans needed: NATO
There is a need to start talking about Turkey's leadership on certain issues, said a high level NATO official, placing the Balkans on the top of the list.
"We can't solve some problems without Turkey. That's clear. So we need to start talking about Turkey's leadership; we don't hear it so much," said the deputy assistant secretary general of NATO, Jamie Shea, June 26.
US State Dept Report Highlights Corruption in Macedonia
In its new "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014", the US State Department says that most problems in Macedonia resulted "from significant levels of corruption and from the government's failure to respect fully the rule of law".
The report notes "continuing efforts to restrict media freedom, interference in the judiciary, and selective prosecution."