Macedonian protests

FYROM (Macedonian) President Gjorge Ivanov has vetoed legislation extending the official use of the Albanian language to the entire country, saying it could endanger Macedonia's unity and sovereignty.

Ivanov said on January 17 that the proposed law would introduce a "very expensive redundancy" in state institutions and make state administration dysfunctional.

Two parliamentary committees - the Foreign Policy Committee and the European Affairs and Oversight Committee of the European Funds - will review the ratification of the Treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia on Wednesday 17 January.

Despite a boycott by VMRO DPMNE, Macedonia's right-wing main opposition party, 61 of the parliament's 120 MPs voted for the agreement. The landmark accord was signed in August 2017 and aims to end the often fraught bilateral relationship between Skopje and Sofia and bring the two countries closer through an EU-oriented partnership.

Macedonia and Greece have a real chance to solve a festering quarter-century-old name dispute by July, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has said.

A Greek court in Thessaloniki has aproved a Macedonian request for the extradition of two former secret police employees linked to the wiretapping scandal that brought down Macedonia's previous government.

The two former police officers, Goran Grujevski and Nikola Boskoski, have claimed that their lives might be in danger if they are extradited to Macedonia.

Macedonia's main opposition VMRO DPMNE party, which held power for 11 years until this May, said that only one person, the party secretary general, Hristijan Mickovski, is standing in the leadership election, which will take place at the party congress on Friday and Saturday.

Macedonian government has approved the Friendship and Neighborhood Treaty between Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, which was signed by Prime Ministers Boyko Borisov and Zoran Zaev on 1 August this year,  BGNES reported.

The Neighborhood and Friendship Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, signed on 1 August by the Prime Ministers of both countries Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borisov, will be ratified by parliament in January.

This was stated by the Macedonian Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi during a meeting with Bulgarian Vice President Iliyana Yotova.

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin says FYROM (Macedonia) Prime Minister Zoran Zaev "has not kept his word."

Vulin's reaction came after Zaev - asked whether his country would support Pristina's UNESCO bid, said Pristina should "count on Macedonia's support in all processes."

Vulin's reaction came after Zaev - asked whether his country would support Pristina's UNESCO bid, said Pristina should "count on Macedonia's support in all processes."