We should wait for the local elections in October to be concluded and to see whether the new government in Skopje will solidify its position in order to be able to start more serious talks over the name issue, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told EPT TV. He said the matter of irredentism was discussed with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov, whom he calls 'an exceptionally interesting person.' " We agreed that a joint committee should be set up in November, tasked with in the next four months do its j…
A Greek business delegation is arriving in Skopje Saturday for a two-day bilateral forum organized by the Macedonian Chambers of Commerce under the auspices of the US Colombia University. The delegation, led by Greek International Business Association (SEVE) chairman Kyriakos Loufakis, is also scheduled to meet SSK president Danela Arsovska and visit several companies - SSK members. Minister in charge of foreign investments Zorica Apostolska is also set to attend the event. The Macedonian-Greek business forum is a result of well-…
Banks in Q1 registered reduced activities by 1.6 per cent as a result of usual seasonal factors, a slowdown in economic activities, and also due to the risks stemming from the domestic political developments, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia (NBRM) concluded. The NBRM on Thursday held a session to review and adopt a report on risks in the banking system in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017. Q1 saw a decrease in the banks’ deposit potential, largely as a result on a decrease in corporation deposits, according to the cent…
VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski welcomed Thursday in Ohrid the Hungarian Prime Minister and Fidesz leader, Viktor Orban, as well as former Slovenian president, now leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party, Janez Jansa. As soon as VMRO-DPMNE published the list of candidates, criminal charges have been brought almost against all of them, Gruevski said. Orban said that according to latest NATO reports, 60 million people from Africa are expected to use the so-called Balkan route on their way to Europe. Jansa voiced support for Mac…
The Turkish company ÇaÄŸatay Kablo laid cornerstone Wednesday at the Skopje industrial zone, where it will built a plant to produce cables for the automotive industry, mainly for buses manufactured by the Belgian company Van Hool. The first stage, estimated to cost EUR 4 million, will see the construction of a facility on an area of 7,000 square meters, where 100 people will be employed. With a planned expansion of the facility at a later stage, the investment will be increased to EUR 6 million and job creation will rise to 300, accord…
Macedonia's industrial output fell by 5.3% year-on-year in August, after decreasing by an annual 2.2% in July, the country's statistical office, Makstat, said on Friday. The decrease in August was mainly caused by an 8.0% drop in manufacturing production, which has the largest weight in total output, of 82.9%, data published on Makstat's website showed. Last year, Macedonia's industrial output increased by 3.4%, following growth of 4.9% in 2015. Details follow (pct change):
The police informs that later on Wednesday evening, the independent list carrier for the Local election in Municipality of Kicevo Alit Abazi and the Head of his Pre-electoral Headquarters Setan Abdiu were shot. The attacker is identified by the police as Abdula Abdulau, who has been arrested an hour after the incident. Abazi and Abdiu were immediately hospitalised in the Kicevo hospital, and later transferred to the clinics in Skopje. Another person has been hit by the attacker, and is being treated at the Kicevo hospital. From …
Albania recognises the existence of eight national minorities, namely the minorities of Macedonians, Greeks, Egyptians, Vlachs, Roma, Montenegrins, Serbs and Bosniaks. This is included in a text of a bill on the protection of minorities in Albania. The draft-law, already being forwarded to the national parliament, foresees advancement of the rights of minorities. Welcoming the move, the Tirana-based Macedonian Association ‘Ilinden’ underscores the fact that Albania is starting to show ‘a realistic picture’ about the minorities living in t…
Macedonian companies backed by Turkish Ministry of Economy will have the opportunity to attend two major international events in Turkey that will be held in early November. The events that will provide opportunity to make direct contacts with potential partners are Match4Industry Business Matching event, 2-3 November 2017 in Kocaeli and Export Week event in Istanbul held from October 31 to November 2. Macedonian-Turkish Chamber of Commerce (MATTO) will present details about upcoming two business events at today’s press conference.…
This year, the fan club and the Tose Proeski Foundation will organize the music happening "Be part of Tose's starry sky" where a new song of the premature deceased singer will be promoted. The musical happening "Be a part of Tose's starry sky" will take place at square "Makedonija" in Skopje on October 5 at 8 pm. From the fan club say that ten years after the premature death of Tose Proeski, the flames of his fans are not fading away. This manifestation is held on the day of his last concert i…
Pustec mayor Edmond Temelko was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Skopje, the Interior Ministry told Macedonian media. An international arrest warrant was issued earlier Tuesday for Edmond Temelko, the mayor of Pustec municipality in Albania. The Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) brought criminal charges against Temelko, political leader of the ethnic Macedonians in Albania, for electoral fraud during the 2013 municipal poll in Macedonia. The Criminal Court accepted the SPO motion and ruled a 30-day detention for Temelko. Previously, an int…
Skopje Alexander the Great Airport says it is ready to provide the "utmost support" to any airline which would consider introducing transatlantic flights from the Macedonian capital. It comes following talks earlier this year between the Macedonian government, Skopje Airport operator TAV and Turkish Airlines over the latter's possible services from Alexander the Great Airport to the United States and Canada. "As TAV Airports, we are actively promoting both Skopje and Ohrid airports in various fields in order to attract …
The state owned Estonian airline Nordic Aviation Group operating under the Nordica brand announced on September 26th that it is adding summertime flights between Tallinn and Constanta, Romania, and Ohrid, Macedonia to its 2018 schedule, informs LETA/BNS. Direct flights to Constanta will take place from June 16 through Sept. 29. The new service will kick off with once-weekly flights on Saturdays with a second flight on Wednesdays to be added from June 27. The duration of the flight is two hours and 30 minutes and ticket prices start fr…
A plant “Injection Moulding Prilep” of German company “Accomplast” has been formally set into work Thursday at the industrial zone Alinci near Prilep. The investment of EUR 1,2 million will initially enable an engagement of 17 employees. The company management announced in the next four years additional EUR 3 million will be invested, which is to create 150 jobs. Ines Andre, Accomplast representative and one of the managers of ‘Injection Moulding’ the said that the plant in Prilep would get another production line soon, while the …
Political campaigning for the sixth local elections to be held in Macedonia officially started on September 25. The first round of the vote is scheduled for October 15, with over 1.7 million people expected to cast ballots for mayors and members of local councils in 80 municipalities, plus the capital, Skopje, according to RFE/RL's Balkan Service. The elections are considered to be a test for Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who has promised quick progress toward joining NATO and the European Union and quick resolution of criminal inv…
Elena Risteska, the 2006 representative of Macedonia, is in front of her new professional step, releasing the video clip of her new single Tequila & Lemon. Elena has been one of the most successful and beloved artists in her country, as she has released 4 albums and more than 20 singles during a career of 15 years. She has been enjoying a brilliant career in music, having collaborated with well-known names of the music industry in Macedonia and beyond. Her new song has been a summer hit over the previous three months and has seen …
The Golden Five film directed by Goran Trencovski won the Best Foreign Feature Film Award at the festival in Mumbai, India. Goran Trencovski’s impressive feature film The Golden Five premiered in the USA at the 36th New Jersey Film Festival on Friday (Sept. 22). The film was greeted with a long applause, and the director responded to questions from the audience. The premiere was attended by numerous representatives from the American film industry, as well as from the Macedonian community in the United States. On Saturday, (Sept. …
Central Asia Metals, a Kazakhstan focused copper producer, has bought an underground zinc and lead mine in Macedonia for $402.5m. Central Asia Metals agreed to buy the mine from Orion Co-Investments and Fusion Capital through a combination of debt and equity, it said. Last year the SASA mine produced 22,515 tonnes of zinc in raw concentrate and 28,955 tonnes of lead in concentrate.
The protracted political crisis in Macedonia has had a higher than excepted toll on the country's economy, local media reported Sunday citing Macedonian National Bank Governor Dimitar Bogov. Bogov declared that it would be difficult for Macedonia to achieve any growth for this year while he considered the Banks April forecast of a 2.5 percent growth as too optimistic. "Having in mind the outcome of the first half of the year which was -0.9, I would be glad if we end this year with positive economic growth," media her…
Traditional cultural manifestation Day of Macedonian Poetry in Sweden, will be held for the 27th time in the City Library in Gothenburg. Within the program of this year's edition there will be twenty poets, and as a guest from Macedonia will participate Macedonian poet Violeta Tancheva Zlateva, author of several books and winner of significant awards for her work, including the most important poetry award in Macedonia, "Brothers Miladinovci "at the Struga Poetry Evenings. The amphitheater hall in the City Library in …
With the Macedonian premiere of the short film "Krajot na vremeto" by Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, and later with the premiere of the Bulgarian - Macedonian co - production "Nasoki" by the Bulgarian director Stephen Komandarev, the first of the films in the official selection will start the 38th International Film Camera Festival "Manaki Brothers" in Bitola. The organizers inform that the preparations for the gala opening in the Bitola Culture Center have been completed and the city is full of …
International cinematographers’ film festival “Manaki Brothers” will present this year’s special award Golden Camera 300 for outstanding contribution in world film art to Macedonian director and screenwriter Milcho Manchevski. The history of Macedonia and its cinematography turned into a new direction in Venice, when the prestigious “Golden Lion” went into Manchevski’s hands and even more on the day when renowned actor Jeremy Irons uttered his name and the country he comes from at the 1995 Oscars. Manchevski, 57, graduated at the …
The defending VELUX EHF Champions League winners are the only team in Group A that has won its first two games in the group this season. HC Vardar were up against the only other victorious side from the first round in the group, HBC Nantes, and celebrated the two points with a four-goal victory, 27:23. Meanwhile IFK Kristianstad played a gutsy game against FC Barcelona Lassa but the hosts' finish proved too strong for the Swedish club. In Zagreb, MOL-Pick Szeged made up for their round 1 loss with a five-goal away win. Vardar …
Greek retailer Veropoulos has opened its eighth Vero supermarket in Macedonia, located in the city of Tetovo, as well as the third Jumbo toy store in the country. The total investment in the two new stores, with a total sales area of 2,600 square metres, amounts to over €2 million. In line with the company strategy for providing support to local producers, the new supermarket offers a wide range of products from 800 Macedonian producers, with which Veropoulos has been working intensively in recent years. Investment Plans Thi…
In New York, a meeting between Macedonian and Greek diplomats, Dimitrov and Kodzias. They had a shared dinner. Photographs published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens. So far, there is no information about what the two heads of diplomats, who attend the United Nations General Assembly, discussed. Kotzias met with Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, with whom he also discussed the name issue two days ago. He believes that after the elections there is a possibility for discussion on the name issue, …
Low cost airline Eurowings has cancelled plans to launch flights between Munich and Skopje, which were to commence on October 31. Services were to run twice per week, each Tuesday and Friday. The airline has suspended ticket sales for the route. The Lufthansa subsidiary confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News it is shelving the planned flights, adding, "As the expectations regarding the economic efficiency of the route were not fulfilled, the service between Munich and Skopje is cancelled for now. Since routes are constantly being reva…
VMRO-DPMNE warned that SDSM is setting violent criminals free ahead of the October 15th municipal elections, which might lead to election day violence or voter intimidation promoted by SDSM leader and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. "Zaev is setting criminals free and the SD led Government is becoming synonymous with banditism and crime. People with criminal records are being put in action ahead of the elections. Zaev knows that he will lose and he is now focusing on non-democratic methods which lead to corruption and destruction of t…
Slovakia donated Wednesday 1,500 pairs of boots worth EUR 113,000 for Macedonian police officers. Slovak Ambassador Martin Bezak handed over the donation in the attendance of Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski. "The successful cooperation that gained intensity during the migrant crisis when Slovak police officers assisted the Macedonia-Greece border controls, continues to enhance", said Minister Spasovski. He added that the arrival of the tenth contingent of Slovak police officers is expected soon.
We have 53.000 lodged requests with documents by Macedonian citizens that cannot become Bulgarian citizens because of certain inconsistencies in the legal base, said the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simenonov yesterday during the roundtable discussion on the subject of “Demographic policy and the work mobility” organized by the Bulgarian government, reports the Bulgarian news agency “BGNES.” He stresses that at the moment the procedure for gaining a Bulgarian citizenship lasts for two or three years, and sometimes even longe…
Igor Stefanovski Idze won the second race in Belgium, Macedonian driver had a great ride and in the end deservedly on the Zolder track our anthem was heard. Igor Stefanovski Idze has won the second victory this season after having triumphed in the second race in Zolder, Belgium, a great success of the Macedonian driver. After seeing that he could not win in the first race, Idze made a strategy to finish it in the eighth place so he could start from the pole position in the second race. That proved to be a proper strategy, Zold…
Fifty new members of the United States Peace Corps arrived in Macedonia on Sunday. During their two-year stay, the Peace Corps volunteers will work as teachers in English Language, special education teachers, as well as in the field of community development, in partnership with elementary and secondary schools, government institutions, municipalities, and NGOs. This is the 22nd group of volunteers living and working in Macedonian towns and villages. They will undergo training in the first three months, including the learning of Ma…
Amok, a film by Vardan Tozija, won the main prize at the Golden Lighthouse 2017 film festival in Otranto, Italy. Amok tells the story of a young man who goes through a bruising growing up experience that turns him in a vengeful man filled with anger. Martin Gjorgoski, Deniz Abdula and Nikola Ristanovski star in the film, which was produced by Dream Factory and Red Helicopters from Albania. The Macedonian Film Agency and the SEE Cinema Network supported the film, which also won the FIPRESCI award at the Pristina PRIFEST festival and th…
The Macedonian Power Plants (ELEM) managing board is making every effort to increase electricity production and minimize the need for import by the year-end, said the company's director-general Dragan Minovski at Sunday's press conference. He said ELEM's electricity production over the past decade has dropped by the year, with 6,510 GWh produced in 2006 dropping to 5,113 GWh in 2013, 4,300 GWh in 2016, whereas 3,600 GWh are expected in 2017, which is below the 4,000 GWh minimum required for the needs of tariff consumers. …
Macedonia and the name dispute were one of the subjects that last night in New York were discussed by the Head of the Greek Diplomacy, NikosKotzias and the UN’s General Secretary, Antonio Guterres. As the Greek MFA announced, regarding the name dispute and the talks with the mediation of the Matthew Niemtiz, Kotzias has said that “there is an open window with possibilities” to talk about the name dispute as soon as the local elections are over and if the “neighboring country abandons irredentism.” -The meeting was also attended by M…
More than 10,000 people have downloaded the Sliko Word application, which was created by fifteen-year-old Darijan Shekerov from Skopje to help children with autism and speech impediments. Darian made the application at 14 years in order to facilitate the communication of these children with the family and the environment. With this application he won 3000 projects from around the world in the category "Fighting diseases and hunger". - This application facilitates the communication of these children with their family and …
Nimetula Abdulai, employed by the Counter Intelligence Agency (UBK) was found dead last night. According to TV21, he worked for UBK’s division in Kumanovo, fell ill last night and was taken with an ambulance to Lipkovo, then to Kumanovo where doctors were only able to confirm his death. Majority of the terrorists from Kosovo asked that Nimetula be a witness in the Court process because he knew the activities of the Kumanovo terrorist group first hand. At the moment, authorities are working in figuring out the cause of Abdulai’…
German company "ODW Elektrik" opened its new plant for production of electronic components in the automotive industry in technological-industrial development zone Ohrid/Struga on Friday. The greenfield investment worth EUR 3 million includes seven production lines and 220 employees. ODW Elektrik Managing Director Martin Ehret said EUR 1,7 million have been invested in equipment. "There will be about 250 employees by the end of 2017, rising to 300 at the end of 2018. This demonstrates ODW's dynamics, but also the…
Standard & Poor's said it affirmed Macedonia's long-term and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at BB-/B with a stable outlook. "The stable outlook reflects the balance between the risks from Macedonia's rising public debt and remaining political uncertainty over the next 12 months, and the country's favorable economic prospects," the credit agency said in a statement, late on Friday. The political crisis in Macedonia has receded following the formation of a narrow majority…
Connect with us