North Macedonia's parliament

The European Union has reiterated its warning to North Macedonia about the proposed amendments to its constitution regarding the recognition of Bulgarians, stressing that any delay or conditional approach will not align with the agreement already approved by all 27 EU member states.

North Macedonia's parliament began a two-day debate leading up to a vote on the new government proposed by a center-right party that won May's national elections.

North Macedonia's parliament on Sunday approved a caretaker government with a mandate to organize a general election in May.

The government of the small Balkan country of 1.8 million people will be headed by the country's first-ever ethnic Albanian prime minister, current parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi, 61.

The largest party representing North Macedonia's ethnic Albanian minority offered to pull its ministers from the government to meet a demand from the opposition to clear the way for European Union membership talks.

North Macedonia's parliament has adopted a legislative amendment to pardon people facing imprisonment for violating Covid-19 safety rules.

Lawmakers late Monday voted 76-1 in favor of the amnesty which will affect more than 200 people currently facing trial as well as more than 90 people reportedly serving prison sentences.

In North Macedonia's parliament on Monday, MP Kastriot Rexhepi said his absence from last Thursday's session, which aborted a planned vote of no confidence in the government had been his own decision. He had not been "kidnapped", as frustrated opposition lawmakers suggested. He had simply wanted to avoid unwarranted publicity.

After an opposition attempt to oust the government of Zoran Zaev failed on Thursday in North Macedonia's parliament, the main ruling Social Democrats, in another twist, said they now expect their wafer-thin majority to be boosted by more MPs.

Opposition leader Hirstijan Mickoski's right-wing VMRO DPMNE party, their Albanian coalition partners Alliance for Albanians and Alternative, alongside the small opposition Levica party, and the ethnic Albanian BESA party, who has just defected from the current government ranks, came together to form a new majority in North Macedonia's parliament.

North Macedonia's parliament has adopted a resolution which draws so-called "red lines" in talks with Bulgaria on the Macedonian identity and language.

Initially filed in early July by the main opposition right wing VMRO DPMNE party, it was supported by 95 out of the 96 MPs present in the 120-seat parliament, with only one abstaining.

After North Macedonia's parliament failed to meet a Wednesday deadline to amend the census law and delay the long-awaited operation due to begin on Thursday, the State Statistical Office - in charge of the headcount - said it will not send census takers out into the field.