Macedonia

SKOPJE (Reuters) - North Macedonia’s president on Thursday handed a mandate to pro-Western ex-prime minister Zoran Zaev to form a new government after his party bloc narrowly won a July 15 election.

“I will lead a government that will not ... veer away from the road leading to membership of the European Union after obtaining membership of NATO,” Zaev said.

The Social Democratic leader, who needed time to ensure the support of parties representing Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority before getting the green light to form a cabinet, will have 20 days to do so.

SKOPJE, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The first constitutive session of the new Parliament of North Macedonia was held here on Tuesday following the July 15 early parliamentary elections.

The session took place in line with safety health protocols against the spread of COVID-19.

Speaking at the session, former Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi, who will chair assembly sessions until a new speaker is elected, declared that the posts of the head of the government and its members end as of Tuesday according to the Electoral Code.

SKOPJE, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — North Macedonia’s parliament dissolved itself on Sunday and set April 12 for an early election, eight months ahead of the end of the current term, in what is seen as a major test for the pro-EU policies of former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s Social Democrats.

The move, endorsed by 108 deputies in the 120-seat parliament, follows Zaev’s resignation last month that came after the European Union failed to give his country a date to start talks on joining the bloc.

SKOPJE, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Council Charles Michel said here on Friday that the future of North Macedonia is in the European Union (EU) and that he will develop strategy for opening the accession negotiations process.

"The message I want to send with this visit is that there is great interest for including the EU in the processes, that the future of North Macedonia is European and that we have to continue with the dialogue in order to reach decision," Michel said at a joint press conference after meeting President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski.

SKOPJE, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) ---- Tens of thousands of citizens responded to the call of the government and joined the clean-up campaign on Saturday in Skopje and several other cities in North Macedonia.

The campaign was led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, members of his government and other officials. Zaev said that this campaign is important and should be an incentive for raising the eco--consciousness of the citizens.

OHRID (Republic of North Macedonia), Nov 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia discussed setting up a common market at a summit Sunday.

The leaders of the three countries met at Lake Ohrid, in North Macedonia, after the EU last month refused to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, his North Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who launched the common market initiative in October, attended Sunday’s meeting.

SKOPJE, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic said here on Wednesday that this month the European Union (EU) should decide to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia.

At a joint press conference after his meeting with President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, Djukanovic said it is realistic to expect full support from the international community both for North Macedonia's opening accession negotiations with the EU and for its NATO membership.

SKOPJE, September 22. /TASS/: A total of 297 aftershocks have struck Albania over the past 24 hours, with 87 of them recorded overnight to Sunday, North Macedonia’s Media Information Agency reported.

The first 5.8-magnitude earthquake was reported in several Albanian settlements on Saturday afternoon. The hardest-hit areas were Albania’s capital of Tirana, Durres, Pogrades, Fier and a number of cities in southwestern North Macedonia. The citizens of Tirana and Durres spent this night in the streets and in six accommodation centers.

7 May 2019; AFP: Pope Francis urged the Balkans to embrace its patchwork of faiths and ethnicities during his visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday, where he delivered prayers and speeches that kept returning to the legacy of an illustrious Skopje native: Mother Teresa.

The pontiff was welcomed with yellow billboards and buses bearing pictures of his smiling face during his one-day stop in the mainly Orthodox Christian country.

5 May 2019; DW: North Macedonian voters are choosing a new president in a poll that could make life more difficult for the ruling Social Democrats. The entire election will need to be re-run if not enough people turn out to vote.

North Macedonian voters returned to the ballot box on Sunday to vote in a presidential run-off election.