Latest Macedonian Press News

[Makedonia25]

SKOPJE, Macedonia Readers browsing the back pages of Macedonia's daily newspapers often come across small ads labeled "Bulgarian Passport." They promise quick processing of applications for Bulgarian citizenship.

The companies are doing brisk business. More than 21,000 Macedonians have applied since 2001, according to the Bulgarian government. Nearly 7,000 have been awarded citizenship and thousands more seem sure of success: Ethnic Macedonians account for two-thirds of the country's population of 2 million, speak a language similar to Bulgarian and are entitled to passports.

Macedonians once looked down on Bulgaria as a lowly neighbor, but now they envy it - because Bulgaria is due to join the European Union just over a year from now.

The rush for passports demonstrates the level of anxiety here that the admission of Macedonia to the 25-nation bloc may be a long time coming.

The country's prospects took a step forward in November when the European Commission recommended that membership negotiations begin. But this week, with the matter due to be debated at EU summit talks in Brussels, new doubts arose after France said more discussion on future expansion was needed before talks on Macedonian membership could begin.

Any prospect of delay sets alarm bells ringing here. Macedonia, like other parts of former Yugoslavia, was consumed by ethnic conflict for most of the 1990s. Reformists across the region argue that EU membership is necessary not just to further political and economic development, but also as a guarantee of stability. European and American diplomats agree, warning that in a region still dominated by nationalists, ethnic tensions could be revived if membership recedes.

Macedonia may face another hurdle. The trans-Atlantic dispute over CIA use of East European states to transport or detain suspected members of Al Qaeda may have damaged its prospects, at least in the short term: The Macedonian government appears to have been complicit in the abduction of a Lebanese-born German, Khaled al Masri, who was abducted by the CIA and flown to Afghanistan. Senior European Commission officials have warned that countries involved in extrajudicial detention could see their applications for EU membership set back.

On paper at least, the region seems inexorably headed toward integration with Europe. It was agreed in October that negotiations on membership could begin with Turkey and Croatia. And Serbia and Bosnia have started talks on closer economic and political ties.

Accession to the EU has been the ultimate goal of Macedonia's government since a seven-month conflict between state security forces and an insurgency led by ethnic Albanians took the country to the brink of civil war in 2001.

Since then, former ethnic Albanian guerrillas have shared power in a government with the Social Democratic Party, led by ethnic Macedonians. Coaxed by a small team of EU diplomats, they have undertaken reforms aimed at giving increased rights to ethnic Albanians and other minorities.

EU accession is seen by both groups as a means of further securing the state from separatists bent on creating a breakaway Albanian state.

Macedonian government ministers argue that membership would also be a model for a region recovering from ethnic conflict.

"Macedonia is a living example of what can happen: If you deliver, there is progress," said Radmila Sekerinska, Macedonia's deputy prime minister.

"If you are a complicated ethnic mix, it does not mean you are doomed to conflict," Sekerinska added.

But many politicians fear that the accession process could be drawn out over many years as the 25-member Union looks to curb spending and possibly slow enlargement.

"We have seen the change not only in member states, but also in Brussels circles," Sekerinska said. Commission officials, she said, have warned that the accession process could slow down.

Suggestions that Turkish accession could take 10 years have prompted concern among politicians here.

"The doors have to be open before then," said Ali Ahmeti, a former guerrilla commander who led the 2001 ethnic Albanian insurgency and whose party serves in the government.

"We want to know specifically what we have to do" to gain membership, he said. "I want the process to be more transparent."

Diplomats warn that any ambiguity about Macedonia's membership prospects could be detrimental to the peace process. A senior Western official cited the damage caused by NATO's decision this year to delay its next summit until 2008, effectively postponing membership applications by Macedonia, Albania and Croatia by two years.

"The NATO decision was very unfortunate," said the official, who is not authorized to give statements to the press and requested anonymity.

Sekerinska acknowledged that Macedonia needed to merit membership but said that failure to sustain momentum would both undermine reform and allow nationalists to crow that Europe never truly cared about the region.

"I can only imagine how some of the populists in Belgrade would feel - they would just gloat," she said. "They will say, 'We told you so."'

[Makedonia25]

Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stilianidis in a speech at the Joint War College in Thessaloniki referred to the stance of the Greek government toward FYROM and Turkey and to alternative forms of diplomacy.

Mr. Stilianidis met with College commander Dimitris Kourkoulis and was briefed on its operation. A total of 217 armed forces' officers and 3 security forces' officers study at the army school, among them 16 Cypriots and 6 from Albania, the Serb Republic of Bosnia, Montenegro, Tunisia and the United States.

On FYROM, Mr. Stilianidis stated that Greece has showed its goodwill by stating that it will accept a mutually acceptable solution and at the same time, it has set its limits. He said that Greece showed that it is not dogmatic and truly supports FYROM's Euro-Atlantic orientation, adding that FYROM should realize that the historical and cultural term Macedonia is non negotiable.

On Turkey, he said that Greece supports its European prospect, stressing that the EU does not bargain away principles and values. He said that Turkey has an opportunity in its hands. The Turkish leadership has to respect human and minority rights, adopt friendly neighborly relations and seek ways to adjust to the European acquis. If all these are done, the way to Europe will be open before it. In a different case, the Turkish leadership will be responsible for undermining the European prospect of the Turkish people, said Mr. Stilianidis.

Mr. Stilianidis stated that the two new pylons on which the Greek foreign policy is based are development cooperation and aid and economic diplomacy.

The goal is to build bridges between markets and consolidate peace through economic cooperation while strengthening Greece's negotiating ability in the international environment. Greece's role in this area, the Balkans, Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, is leading and absolutely stabilizing, stressed Mr. Stilianidis.

Greece is among the leaders at global level in the sector of international development cooperation and assistance. It was dynamically present in cases of natural disaster or reconstruction efforts (SE Asia, Pakistan, Russia, sub-Saharan Africa, New Orleans). It is present in 46 countries building schools, hospitals, helping the poor.

In the sector of economic diplomacy the goals are three: increase exports, increase Greek business activity internationally and attract new investments to Greece.

For the first time this year after many years, Greece achieved over 12% increase in exports and great mobility has been recorded in the sector of foreign investments in Greece.

The government activated the Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB). Increased its absorption rate from 2.4% to 10.5% and hopefully this year it will be further increased. The first major projects in the Balkans have already begun to materialize notably by companies in north Greece.

According to figures presented, Greece occupies the top place regarding foreign investments in Albania, FYROM, and Serbia-Montenegro, the second place among foreign investors in Bulgaria and the third in Romania.

[akritas]

EU Leaders have agreed to make the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia a candidate to join the bloc.But its entry will have to await a broader debate on how far the bloc should enlarge.

The FYROM Prime Minister, Vlado Buckovski, has been praised for making what EU leaders call "significant progress" towards meeting the union's political and economic criteria.

The EU took in ten new member states last year and is due to take in Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 or 2008 which is why EU leaders made clear that any further enlargement must depend on a wide debate across Europe.

Nevertheless, the deal is a major step for FYROM, which was on the brink of civil war four years ago before an EU-mediated power-sharing agreement with its Albanian minority.

source:
www.euronews.com

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia euphoric after EU decision on candidate status
19/12/2005

Exultant Macedonians took to the streets at the weekend to hail the decision by EU leaders to grant their country official candidate status.
By Zoran Nikolovski for Southeast European Times in Skopje - 19/12/05


Macedonians celebrated in Skopje on Saturday (17 December) after the country received EU member candidate status. [Tomislav Georgiev]

A celebratory mood has prevailed throughout Macedonia in the past days, following the EU's decision to grant the country candidate status. The heads of state and government of EU member nations made the decision in Brussels in the early hours of Saturday (17 December), following an intense debate over budgetary and enlargement issues.

The news triggered euphoria in Skopje. A huge crowd gathered in the main city square for an official celebration. While the festivities were organised by the government, opposition leaders also participated.

"We have got a clear recognition of what we have achieved and of the progress made in the past period," President Branko Crvenkovski told his fellow citizens. At the same time, he cautioned that the decision "also means enormous responsibility for us to continue with even greater dedication along the same course and towards the same goal".

Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski hailed what he described as a new page in Macedonian history. However, he added, "Candidate status is not a magic stick that will immediately solve all the issues the citizens are concerned with, and in particular those relating economy and life quality."

"Be assured that experience of other countries where investments increased and business conditions improved will be repeated with us," Buckovski said.

Meanwhile, the international community has expressed congratulations.

European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso noted that Macedonia was on the edge of civil war just a few years ago. Candidate status is an acknowledgment of all it has achieved since then, he said.

US Ambassador to Macedonia Gillian A. Milovanovic also congratulated the Macedonian government.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn explained that the EC did not propose a date for the start of negotiations, as that depends on the capacity of Macedonia to implement the membership criteria. Nevertheless, the EU has thus given a clear signal for European prospects to the countries throughout the Western Balkans, Rehn said.

In granting candidate status, the EU leaders also included wording that specifies the move does not automatically imply membership negotiations.

"The European Council makes clear that further steps will have to be considered in the light of the debate on the enlargement strategy. The absorption capacity of the Union also has to be taken into account," the leaders said.

However, Macedonian leaders anticipate the start of negotiations in a year's time. By then, the EU will have completed a planned review of the enlargement process, and Macedonia will have had time to implement the EC's recommendations. The election planned for November 2006 will give Skopje an opportunity to demonstrate the country's ability to hold a free and fair vote.

"The EU vision is a united Europe," British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters after the decision was announced. "Macedonia is an important part of that vision," he added.


http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setime.../19/feature-01

[Makedonia25]

And surprise surprise!

Bulgaria Hails EU Decision to Grant Macedonia Candidate Status

19.12.2005

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria hails the decision of the European Council for granting Macedonia EU candidate country status, according to a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Monday.
The decision is an assessment of the progress made by Macedonia over the past years thanks to the political and public consensus on the country's European prospect, the press release says.

Bulgaria has assisted and will continue to support Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic future, the statement reads.

In the light of the Commission's analysis, the European Council decides to grant candidate country status to Macedonia, taking into account, in particular, the substantial progress made in completing the legislative framework related to the Ohrid Framework Agreement, as well as its track record in implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (including its trade-related provisions) since 2001.

The European Council has welcomed the significant progress made by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia towards meeting the political criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council in 1993 and the Stabilisation and Association Process requirements established by the Council in 1997.

http://www.evroportal.bg/article_view.php?id=729682

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia gets nod, but no date, from summit

In Short:

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been given candidate status by EU leaders, although no date has been set for the start of membership talks with the Balkans state.

RELATED

EU-Western Balkans relations
Brief News:

The 15-16 December Brussels summit participants spoke highly of FYROM's "significant progress" in fulfilling the political and economic criteria for EU membership, but they said that there was much more work to be done "on the basis of specific benchmarks". The country's entry has been linked to a future debate among the EU-25 on the Union's future and its ability to absorb more newcomers. Accordingly, it may take years before Skopje actually opens membership talks.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski commented that it was an "enormous success of our country and for our people". Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that "this decision is also the right political signal to send to the region of the Western Balkans as a whole: the EU has given a clear European perspective to these countries, provided they fulfill the conditions".

FYROM established diplomatic relations with the EU in 1995, and Skopje submitted its application for membership of the Union on 22 March 2004 in Dublin. In April 2001, FYROM was the first country in the Balkans region to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The EU's CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation) programme [whose full financial envelope for 2000-2006 is 5.13 billion euros] earmarked 40 million euros to FYROM in 2006.

Greece, meanwhile, continues to demand that the country officially change its name from Macedonia to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, arguing that 'Macedonia' implies territorial claims on the northern Greek province of the same name.

http://www.euractiv.com/Article?tcmu...1-16&type=News

[Makedonia25]

US applauds Macedonia’s EU candidate status
21/12/2005

(Washington, DTT-NET.COM)- US government has applauded EU’s decision to grant to Macedonia the candidate status for membership at 25-nation bloc but called on local authorities to further step up reforms necessary for integration into NATO and EU.

“The United States welcomes the decision by the European Council of Ministers to grant Macedonia candidate status for the European Union. We congratulate the government and people of Macedonia for the tremendous progress the country has made in the last four years.” US state department spokesperson Sean McCormack said.

Leaders of 25-nation bloc at a Summit meeting of last week agreed to grant Macedonia the status of candidate country for EU membership but the start of the entry talks for the Balkan country will be on stand-by for the time being as France wants to open debate with its European partners on the frontiers of the bloc.

“Although much work remains to be done, attaining candidate status is an important milestone on Macedonia's road to membership in the EU. We urge the government of Macedonia to redouble its efforts to implement the judicial, economic, electoral and other reforms needed to realize their country's full integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions “, the spokesperson said. He added that “The EU decision sends a positive message not only to Macedonia but to all countries of the Balkans that their future lies in a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.

He also said that “it's important for the future prosperity of the European continent and also adds to global prosperity by bringing those others who may have been left behind into the EU.”

“We think that a strong EU, a vibrant EU, an expanding EU, is good for Europe and good for the world.” McCormack told reporters in Washington.

http://www.dtt-net.com/en/index.php?...8df2511a3ebf3b

[Makedonia25]

Macedonia Will Be Ready For EU Membership After 2010 - PM
STOCKHOLM (AP)--Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski said Tuesday he thinks his country will be ready to join the European Union early next decade, and that E.U. concerns about enlargement shouldn't affect Macedonia.

E.U. leaders last week accepted Macedonia as a candidate, linking its entry to a debate on the bloc's future and its ability to absorb more relatively poor newcomers.

Buckovski, who met with Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson in Stockholm Tuesday, said Europeans are mainly concerned about Turkey becoming a member, not the smaller Balkan states.

"Turkey will be crucial for the enlargement process, not a small country like Macedonia," Buckovski said.

If the E.U. enlargement proceeds on schedule, with Romania and Bulgaria joining in 2007, Macedonia should be ready to join "in the beginning of the next decade," he said.

Macedonia officially applied to join in March 2004.

Last month, the European Commission recommended making Macedonia an E.U. candidate, widening the union's embrace of the Balkans to make the bloc's volatile southeastern rim more secure.

Persson said he had congratulated Buckovski on his country's candidate status, and said Macedonia has undergone significant political and economic reforms since a Western-brokered peace deal ended six months of fighting in 2001.

"That is something...for other countries to be inspired by," Persson said.

http://www.serbianna.com/news/2005/02269.html

[akritas]

40 US CONGRESS MEMBERS CALL ON FYROM TO COMPROMISE ON THE NAME ISSUE
Washington, 23 December 2005 (15:31 UTC+2)

Mobilization in the US Congress on the issue of the FYROM name continues. In a letter written by Greek American Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) and strong supporter of Greek positions Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), cosigned by 40 US Congress members, the FYROM government is called to stop the negative nationalist propaganda and work with the UN and Greece to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the FYROM name.

Among those cosigning the letter is Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), leading member of the Foreign Relations Committee, who recently sent a personal letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the issue.

The members of the US Congress also call on FYROM to respect the provisions of article 7 of the interim agreement signed by Athens and Skopje in September 1995 and make steps to terminate the dissemination of negative propaganda against Greece and proceed with the reexamination of the contents of books, maps and teaching textbooks to ensure that they offer correct information

source:
MPA

[akritas]

STATE OF ALERT

A state of alert is into effect in Greece in view of the bad weather expected to hit the country. Traffic moves without problems in most of the national and provincial road network in the prefectures of north and west Macedonia, north Greece, in spite of the deterioration of weather conditions and the temperature plunge expected during the day by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, EMY.

Snow chains are necessary for cars using the Ioannina motorway through Nestorio, Florina through Vitsi and the Florina-Aminteo motorway.

In Thessaloniki, the Hortiatis-Agios Vasilios intersection closed because of the snow.

Ice covered parts of the Asvestochori-Hortiatis road in the early morning hours today.

Traffic police suggested caution to drivers using the national and provincial road network in the early morning hours because of ice patches on the road created as a result of the combination of rainfall and low temperatures.

Snow began to fall just before noon in the center of Thessaloniki where temperature is 0C.

MPA, Thessaloniki, 23 January 2006 (13:51 UTC+2)