EU enlargement commissioner praises North Macedonia
European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn has suggested that North Macedonia might soon assume Serbia’s position as the leading candidate country for EU membership.“In the European Commission’s strategy for the Western Balkans, we have clearly stated that we will accept new members only if they do not have bilateral conflicts. We are…
Frontex deploys border guards to Albania to halt illegal migration
Deutsche Welle has reported that Albanian police will patrol “shoulder to shoulder” with border guards from across the EU on the country’s frontier with Greece.It will be the first-ever joint operation on the territory of a neighboring non-European Union country for Frontex, which is the EU agency in charge of border protection and immigration. Led by an Albanian team…
Thirty Fifteen
For many of the countries of emerging Europe, 2019 offers double cause for celebration: 30 years since the end of communism in 1989 and 15 years since EU membership in 2004. For all concerned, EU enlargement has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. Why then, is anti-EU sentiment in Central and Eastern Europe increasingly strong?Two subjects…
South Ossetia to play Western Armenia in final of CONIFA’s European Football Cup
While English football teams Arsenal and Chelsea both complained vehemently last month at being forced to play their Europa League final in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, eight other teams have been only too happy to spend this week in a remote corner of Azerbaijan playing in the CONIFA Sportsbet.io European Football Cup, currently being held…
EU delays decision on Albania, North Macedonia accession talks
Albania and North Macedonia will have to wait until October to find out if they can begin accession talks with the European Union.The European Commission said in May that both countries had made the necessary progress on democratic standards and the rule of law to begin accession talks. Some of the EU’s member countries however,…
Serbia’s increasing importance for China’s BRI
Historically, China has never been an important partner of the CEE region. Trade and FDI data show that the EU, especially Germany, plays the dominant role. This holds true for Serbia as well. However, the economic and geopolitical rise of China, the deterioration of political relations between individual member states and the EU and political…
A new EU law, and the battle to protect Europe’s journalists
Sofia Mandilara really likes her job. As a reporter for the Greek news agency Amna, she is “often at the forefront of important events”, she says. “Through us, people find out what is going on in our country”.But not all that goes on in Greece is reported. Published by: euobserver.com
President of North Macedonia expects NATO membership ‘this year’
North Macedonia expects to become a member of NATO by the end of this year and hopes to get a date for the start of European Union (EU) accession talks in October, President Stevo Pendarovski said on July 15.“We expect that the European Union will in October accept its decision about the date for (the…
The Macedonian church symbolic of the nation’s cultural narrative
Up a winding dirt road from the remote village of Kurbinovo lies an 800 year old church that represents the crossroads between North Macedonia’s past and present.Situated on the western mountainside of lake Prespa which covers the intersecting border region of Albania, Greece and North Macedonia, the church is an enigmatic masterpiece of 12th century…
Gearing up for investment: Doing business in North Macedonia
North Macedonia is the only country in the Western Balkans to make the Top 10 of the World Bank’s Doing Business Index. The country, which continues to aspire to Euro-Atlantic integration, is heavily dependent on foreign investors, and how it presents itself on the international stage is crucial.North Macedonia has been at the centre of…