Why does macedonia have fyr




















This prompted a vote of confidence in Tsipras in mid-January, which he survived and thereby averted a snap election. The Sunday before the vote in the Greek parliament saw tens of thousands of people rally against the settlement in Athens. This content is not available in your region. Text size Aa Aa. Proxima's goal is to help Skopje develop its police force in line with European and international standards through mentoring, monitoring, and inspecting the management and operations of the police.

The mission is part of the EU's strategy of supporting the country's reform process aimed at administrative and judicial reform, institution-building, and the fight against organized crime and corruption. Macedonia's center-left prime minister, Branko Crvenkovski, was elected president with 63 percent of the vote, defeating his center-right rival, Sasko Kedev, who received about 37 percent.

Crvenkovski, the leader of the Social Democrats, vowed to work toward Skopje's membership in the European Union, which it applied to join in March. He also said he would continue to consolidate the peace established three years ago following an ethnic Albanian guerrilla insurgency against government forces.

The European Commission welcomed the election of Crvenkovski, saying that it was an "important and positive step on the road for stability" in the country and was indicative of a commitment to the "legacy of unity" of the late Macedonian president, Boris Trajkovski, who was killed in a plane crash in Bosnia in February.

Trajkovski had been largely credited for the avoidance of civil war in the country in He demanded a re-vote and said Crvenkovski was not the "legitimate president of Macedonia. Crvenkovski is expected to be elected president in the runoff ballot against Kedev, who won the second-largest number of votes, on April A key element in the outcome of the runoff will be which candidate the one-quarter ethnic Albanian minority decides to support, following the elimination of the ethnic Albanian candidates: Gezim Ostreni, the secretary general of the ruling coalition's Democratic Union for Integration DUI , with 15 percent, and Zudi Xhelili, a parliamentarian of the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians DPA , with 9 percent.

Crvenkovski's critics have cited his failure to improve the economy and reduce the country's 35 percent unemployment rate, a major concern of voters along with fear that the recent violence in Kosovo could spill over the border.

Although political power rests primarily with the government, the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and head of the Security Council, while also having special powers in times of war or emergency. President Boris Trajkovski, who was up for re-election in November but was killed in a plane crash in February, was largely credited with brokering the peace accord that brought stability to the country following an ethnic Albanian insurgency against the government in The submission had been scheduled for February 26 but had been cancelled due to the death of Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski in a plane crash the same day.

Macedonia becomes the third former republic of Yugoslavia to apply for EU accession after Croatia, which filed its application in February , and Slovenia, which will become an EU member along with nine other countries on May 1.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called Skopje's move "a signal of remarkable achievement as well as a sign of hope for the whole region. About 87 percent of Macedonians support the country's bid to become part of the EU. On February 23, the EU approved the conclusion of its Stabilization and Association Agreement with Skopje, following ratification of the agreement by the 15 current EU member states. As Parliament Speaker Ljubco Jordanovski takes over as acting president, the first matter to be handled will be passing legislation to rectify a contradiction between the constitution and the election law concerning the timeframe within which elections must be held following a president's death.

The constitution sets the time limit at 40 days, while the election law states that the limit is 60 days. Parliament is expected to change the law to conform to the constitution, which would place elections in mid-April.

In addition, a state electoral commission must be formed. Senior officials stated that it would be difficult to organize the nomination of candidates, the campaign, and the actual voting process in time to meet a day deadline. The presentation in Dublin was cancelled as Crvenkovski left for Skopje to attend an emergency session of the government amid the imposition of a state of alert as a security precaution, with increased police patrols throughout the country.

Parliament Speaker Ljubco Jordanovski will serve as acting president. Trajkovski, who was en route to an international investment conference in the western Bosnian city of Mostar when he died, was elected in November to a five-year term as president and was widely expected to win a second term later this year. Macedonia on December 15, marking the end of Operation Concordia, the EU's first peacekeeping mission, in place in the country since April At a ceremony installing the police mission, known as Proxima, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana stated that criminality had replaced armed conflict as the primary threat to the stability of the country.

Therefore, he said, the emphasis of the EU's support must be providing police rather than military personnel. The member Operation Concordia had replaced NATO peacekeepers that had been in the country since , following the end of a seven-month conflict between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Macedonian government troops. Ten of the police in Proxima will work in the Macedonian Interior Ministry, advising officials on ways to combat organized crime and further transform the local police force into a multi-ethnic force.

Thirty will be stationed at border crossings, particularly along the frontiers with Albania, Kosovo, and southern Serbia. The rest will be placed in police stations in the western and northwestern parts of the country, among sizable ethnic Albanian communities.

Only about 30 members of the force, commanded by a Belgian officer, will carry weapons. By the end of January, Proxima will also include Macedonian police officers. Proxima, with a mandate of 12 months, is the second mission of its kind in the Balkans since the EU also has a police mission in Bosnia, where NATO peacekeepers remain. Criminals and political extremists continue to present a security threat in F.

Multi-ethnic police units struggle to impose law and order, with murders up by one-third over the last three years, resulting in one of the highest murder rates in Europe.

December 5, Powell Expresses U. He encouraged F. Macedonia, which is already a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, to continue working toward meeting requirements for membership in the alliance.

Powell hailed the Macedonian government's support for the U. He noted that, although the contingents contributed by the country to the stabilization forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq are small, "the symbolism is huge. Macedonia has 34 troops in Iraq and 10 in Afghanistan. The secretary of state also noted that the withdrawal of the EU peacekeeping force from F.

Macedonia on December 15, leaving the country without an international military presence, was a milestone demonstrating that the country had reached "a degree of political stability" that allowed it to handle its own security needs with some "outside assistance. The Macedonian delegation, which included Deputy Prime Minister Mousa Xhaferi and Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva, also met with Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, with whom the officials discussed bilateral cooperation in the war on terrorism; Skopje's preparations for NATO candidacy through the Membership Action Plan, including military reform; and implementation of the Ohrid agreement that ended the conflict between Macedonian security forces and the National Liberation Army, an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group.

The IMF stated that Skopje's economic stabilization program for was based on sound fiscal and monetary policies, restoring the country's fiscal balance to a sustainable level after two years of high deficits. Inflation has been low, interest rates have dropped significantly, foreign exchange reserves are accumulating, and the credibility of the central bank has been enhanced, it said. The Fund urged the government to accelerate reforms to increase the flexibility of the labor market, tackle corruption and money laundering, create a predictable business environment in order to encourage investments, and revamp the judicial system.

It also called for the establishment of a government securities market and for structural measures to address obstacles to growth and reduce unemployment. The "Proxima" police mission, commanded by Belgium, will be operational by December 15 and will replace the strong EU peacekeeping force, "Concordia," whose mandate ends on that date.

The aims of the EU police force, deployed at the request of the Macedonian government, will be to assist the Macedonian police in fighting organized crime, reforming the Interior Ministry, creating a border police unit, and enhancing cooperation with other police forces in the region. Proxima will be the second EU police mission of its kind, following the deployment of EU police officers in Bosnia in January The EU is also being asked to help train a police force in the Democratic Republic of Congo and may carry out the same function in Afghanistan.

September 12, U. Macedonian officials stated that the police had helped a group of about villagers to temporarily leave Brest, about 20 miles north of Skopje, after the fighting began, a factor that contributed to the lack of civilian injuries. The clash resulted in no injuries to Macedonian security personnel and caused limited property damage.

According to Macedonian officials, no arrests were made by the police unit, which included ethnic Albanians inducted into the ranks of the police force as a result of reforms outlined in the August Ohrid agreement ending the six-month conflict between ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the National Liberation Army NLA and government forces. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the United States supported "legitimate and targeted action by the [Macedonian] government against entrenched armed groups that seek to undermine peace and stability in Macedonia.

We will continue to work with the government and governing coalition parties toward these goals," Boucher added. Admiral Gregory Johnson, the commander of NATO-led troops in southern Europe, stated that the Macedonian police action in the Brest area "was an important effort" to stop criminal activity in northern Macedonia, where the possibility of renewed fighting between ethnic Albanian militants and government forces, similar to that which occurred two years ago, is feared.

The week before the clash near Brest, police had sealed off the village while searching for Avdil Jakupi, the self-declared commander of the ANA.

The force completes its first term of duty at the end of September. The standoff began after the police launched a manhunt in the villages in pursuit of Avdil Jakupi, the alleged commander of the ANA, who is being sought for briefly abducting a Macedonian policeman and a civilian.

Jakupi is also known as Commander Chakala. Hundreds of people from the villages fled, fearing renewed fighting similar to that which occurred during the conflict between Macedonian security forces and the National Liberation Army NLA , an ethnic Albanian guerrilla group. The ANA rejects the Western-brokered peace plan that ended the conflict and has taken responsibility for attacks in Macedonia, Kosovo, and the Presevo Valley in southern Serbia. It is a shadowy group whose members are believed to be former NLA guerrillas, as well as members of the disbanded ethnic Albanian guerrilla groups in Kosovo and southern Serbia.

Minister of Interior Hari Kostov and police authorities traveled to the north for talks with Albanian officials from Vaksince and Lojane in an attempt to defuse the standoff.

On August 28, some 24 hours after the abductions by Jakupi, unknown attackers tossed grenades at a government building, a courthouse, and a military barracks in Skopje.

No one claimed responsibility for the incidents, which caused no injuries. The late July graduating class of cadets from a Macedonian police academy, the fifth and final group to be trained, consisted of ethnic Albanians, 52 Slav Macedonians, 20 ethnic Turks, 11 Bosnian Muslims, and people representing six other minorities in the country.

Fifty-one of the cadets were women. In an accord signed by Macedonian Interior Minister Hari Kostov and his Serbian counterpart, Dusan Mihajlovic, the two countries stated that they would work together to target criminal enterprises such as prostitution and human and drug trafficking through means that included more efficient mechanisms for the exchange of information.

More than 30 countries globally have agreed to sign such accords with Washington. Among the other Balkan nations approached by the U. The European Union strongly supports the ICC and has urged countries that want to join the bloc not to conclude exemption agreements with the United States. June 13, Troops to Work with U. Soldiers in Iraq Washington, D.

Nine members of the contingent, composed of both ethnic Albanians and Slav Macedonians, are medical personnel who will treat patients as necessary.

Skopje has also sent two liaison officers to Kuwait. With Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou present at the meeting as the current chairman of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, the leaders also called on governments of EU nations to waive visa requirements for nationals of Balkan countries.

In addition, they vowed to work jointly to combat international terrorism and fight organized crime and trafficking in drugs, weapons, and people. Since January, Albania has been negotiating an SAA, which is expected to be signed in at the latest.

The SAA is considered the first step toward EU membership since it promotes reforms that must be implemented before accession negotiations can begin. Among the five Balkan countries represented at the Ohrid meeting, Croatia is the only one that has submitted an application to join the EU. The contingent will be comprised of 37 personnel, including 28 members of special army units, three doctors and six nurses. Two liaison officers will be stationed in Qatar.

It is the third former Yugoslav republic to join the body, after Slovenia and Croatia. Albania became a member in September , while Bulgaria joined in Greece and Turkey have been members since Once the accession agreement becomes effective in January , all import quotas in Macedonia will be revoked, with the exception of the quota for the importation of wheat.

By , duties on all imports will be reduced from an average of 14 percent to 8 percent. In the textile sector, which accounts for the highest volume of the country's exports, export duties will be gradually reduced over the next eight years to The agricultural sector will benefit from a reduction in export duties on its products to 1 percent.

By , import duties on cars will decrease from 22 percent to 5 percent, while the current duties on the importation of beer, now about 35 percent, will be completely abolished. Duties on the importation of sugar will slide from 80 percent to 30 percent. The WTO is the only international organization that deals with global rules of trade between nations. Its primary function is to ensure that trade moves as smoothly and freely as possible through measures such as administering trade agreements, settling trade disputes, and reviewing national trade policies.

Members are obligated to keep their trade policies within agreed limits, and each member nation receives guarantees that its exports will be treated fairly and consistently in other countries' markets. The WTO's agreements have been negotiated and signed by a large majority of the world's trading nations and have been ratified in their parliaments.

These agreements are the legal ground rules for international commerce. Over three quarters of WTO members are developing or least-developed countries. The defense ministers agreed that the delay between defining a mission and deploying the European Union force should be 30 days rather than 60, as previously stipulated, if the EU is to play a decisive role in defense operations.

NATO peacekeepers in Macedonia have supported international observers monitoring the peace accord between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas since The peacekeeping force was requested by Macedonian authorities, who also endorsed the transfer of the operation to the European Union. Macedonia, raising fears that the guerrilla group may be preparing to carry out its January threat through the Albanian-language media to launch a spring offensive in areas of the country controlled by ethnic Albanian guerrillas of the National Liberation Army NLA in The ANA, believed to include former National Liberation Army fighters, has accused former NLA leader Ali Ahmeti of betraying Albanian national interests by entering mainstream politics following the August peace agreement that ended a six-month NLA insurgency against Macedonian government forces to gain greater rights for ethnic Albanians.

The ANA has stated that it does not recognize the peace agreement and believes that the political compromises between ethnic Albanians and Slav Macedonians that emerged following conclusion of the accord have not resulted in adequate rights for ethnic Albanians.

No one has accepted responsibility for the attacks. The Macedonian government stated that the ANA did not pose a serious threat, asserting that it consists of several armed groups of 20 to 30 people who are involved in crime, racketeering, and other illegal activities. Macedonia, laying the groundwork for a planned transfer of authority by March The purpose of the mission is to protect international observers monitoring implementation of the peace accord that ended a six-month conflict between Macedonian government forces and the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army NLA.

Since F. Although DUI has been given 5 of the 18 cabinet ministries -- justice, health, education, transport, and communications -- Ahmeti will not be serving in the cabinet, and it is not yet clear whether he will assume the parliamentary seat he was elected to.

SDSM stipulated that no former NLA members who were directly involved in the fighting could be included in the new government. The lobbing of a hand grenade toward the parliament building hours before legislators were to vote on the inclusion of DUI in the government coalition, causing damage to several cars but no injuries, was an indication of the fragility of the peace accord. Macedonia from the alliance. The peacekeeping operation was set up in September to protect monitors from the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE , who are observing the return of Macedonian government forces and displaced people to areas formerly controlled by the National Liberation Army, an ethnic-Albanian guerrilla force.

The takeover of Operation Amber Fox by the EU force, declared provisionally operational in December for peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, was to have been the force's first mission. Greece, a member of both NATO and the European Union, opposes a demand by Turkey, an alliance member and EU candidate, that it be consulted by EU military planners concerning deployment of the rapid reaction force when a mission it is undertaking is related to Turkey's national security.

The Greek government seeks reciprocal assurances that the alliance will not take military action against an EU country, eliminating the possibility of action by Turkey against Greece or Cyprus, which is expected to be an EU member by Athens assumed the chairmanship of the EU's defense portfolio on July 1, , and will hold it until June 30, The EU plans to create a fully operational force of 60, troops by the summer of Referring to the recent U.

The force proposed by Washington would be designed for contingencies ranging from evacuations to war, and would be aimed in part at strengthening readiness against terrorism. Two other ethnic Albanian parties will have a total of 3 seats. Crvenkovski will be under international pressure to form a coalition government with Ahmeti.

Since the August Western-brokered peace agreement was signed, Ahmeti has worked toward implementation of the accord, which mandated greater social and political rights for ethnic Albanians, the stated goal of the NLA campaign. Most of the former NLA members were included in an amnesty issued by the government last fall. Crvenkovski has not yet made clear how he intends to deal with Ahmeti, who has stated that he advocates ethnic reconciliation.

Security Council Resolution in Kosovo. For the first time, as a result of the elections, the Turkish minority will be represented in the Macedonian parliament. Despite a spate of pre-election killings and kidnappingsthe elections were free of major violence. Read Statements from U. C - A seven-year interim agreement signed by the Macedonian and Greek governments under the auspices of the United Nations on September 13, , to provide a framework for the normalization of bilateral relations and the resolution of the name issue between the two countries, will automatically remain in force since neither country has indicated that it wishes to pull out of the agreement.

The issue remains the only significant bilateral difference between the two countries. Representatives from both countries meet four times a year in New York to discuss the matter under the mediation of Ambassador Matthew Nimetz, Special Representative of the U. Secretary General. This move by the U. Under the interim agreement, Greece and Macedonia maintain Liaison Offices in their respective capitals, rather than embassies.

Widespread diplomatic speculation has hinted at a treaty-based compromise between Skopje and Athens on the name issue, which would include special concessions to Greek concerns, commitments by European Union and NATO members to consult with Athens on appropriate measures to take if Skopje does not honor its treaty promises, and the use of the name "Republic of Macedonia" by the United Nations and other international organizations.

Greek officials have opposed a proposal involving the use of a second name, such as "Upper Macedonia," to be applied specifically in bilateral relations with Greece. Macedonian authorities arrested three ethnic Albanians on charges of killing the officers, who died in a drive-by shooting in the predominantly ethnic-Albanian town of Gostivar, 40 miles west of Skopje.

Following the arrests, ANA members abducted five Slav Macedonians from a bus on the Tetovo-Gostivar highway and held them hostage in the village of Zerovjane for three days, demanding the release of the three arrested in conjunction with the shooting of the police officers.

As police deployed to deal with the situation, two ethnic Albanians were shot and killed and another was injured in two separate incidents. Macedonian authorities did not meet the demand of the hostage-takers, who escaped after the hostages were released and threatened to carry out more abductions. Ali Ahmeti, the former NLA commander, has actively supported the agreement. The Interior Ministry asserted that Ahmeti was linked to the recent hostage-taking, a charge Ahmeti denied.

The arrest of Ahmeti, whose Skopje office has been attacked several times, could unleash renewed fighting in the country. To be viable, the government that emerges through the elections will have to include an ethnic Albanian party, as does the current government of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski. Tackling the economy will be a major post-election issue in a country where 40 percent of the population lives under the poverty line.

The elections are being held as part of the peace agreement and are considered a key test of whether the country can remain united. The move marked the first time the country has contributed troops to an international peacekeeping force other than the Southeastern Europe Brigade SEEBRIG , a seven-nation peacekeeping force currently based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that has not yet been deployed on a mission.

One of the Macedonian officers, who has been the platoon commander for the Macedonian troops participating in SEEBRIG, is serving as an operational officer in the headquarters of the Turkish contingent. However, in late April, the work of the patrols was temporarily hindered by the erection of roadblocks in nearly 20 villages by ethnic Albanians, who claimed they were being harassed by Macedonian authorities at checkpoints leading into the villages.

The ethnic Albanians were also protesting the detention of prisoners they said should be released under an amnesty law that applied to former members of the National Liberation Army NLA. The government said the crimes of those in detention were not related to the seven-month NLA insurgency. Authorities also denied that harassment had taken place at the checkpoints, but moved some of them to more neutral ground to end the standoff over the roadblocks.

In addition, a request by two towns that their police patrols be limited to ethnic Albanians was granted by Skopje. The roadblock standoff raised the question of the ability of the police patrols, who are under orders to avoid violence, to maintain order in the northwestern region, where many areas have never had police patrols before. As a result of a shortage of trained mixed patrols, violent incidents in the region, such as gunfights, abductions, and gang violence, have not been dealt with by the police.

In late April, one ethnic Albanian was killed and two others were wounded in a gun battle with Macedonian soldiers inside F. Macedonia near the Kosovo border. The incident occurred when an army patrol came under fire from a truck it had tried to stop from entering the country, while a group of gunmen on the Kosovo side of the border also opened fire on the patrol.

The fragile peace being maintained in F. Macedonia, monitored by observers placed in the country by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE , is expected to be tested further over the summer as the country embarks on a campaign to prepare for parliamentary elections, scheduled for September The replenished amount for the project will support the rehabilitation of local roads and related enhancements, including to bus stops, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities, improve drainage and safety features, boost economic competitiveness, support growth in beneficiary communities, and provide more and better opportunities for people around the country.

So far, the project has helped procure modular prefabricated containers for the establishment of 17 regional COVID centers, with outpatient and inpatient units, furniture, and non-medical equipment. In addition to the health component, the project provided temporary income support to eligible individuals and households economically affected by the COVID containment measures. Growth declined by 4.

Private consumption, the main driver of growth in the past, experienced a sharp decline of 5. Investment also declined by more than 10 percent, even though it shortly rebounded in the third quarter. Government consumption that increased by over 10 percent partly alleviated declining domestic demand. External demand also plummeted, reflected in a The accompanying decline in imports alleviated the pressure on the current account deficit, which is expected to remain largely unchanged compared to On the production side, agriculture, information and communications technology, and real estate activities were the only sectors to grow in The unemployment rate remained largely unchanged, but this was partly a result of people dropping out of the labor market.

The activity rate dropped by 0. The banking sector liquidity ratio of over 23 percent in the third quarter of remained adequate, helped by central bank measures. Credit continued to grow at 4. Nonperforming loans declined to 3. Most observers agree that the referendum campaign was punctuated less by nationalist fervor and rabid partisanship though these existed than by a generalized sense of disillusionment with political elites and a distrust that the EU — after years of dealing with an economic crisis and political division itself — can really help their country.

Seen in a broader context, the referendum is one more link in a long chain of popular votes in recent years, from referendums in Greece, the UK and the Netherlands to elections in Hungary and Italy, where the EU has been resoundingly rejected. Obviously not all these votes and countries are the same.

Local political and economic context is always crucial for how the EU is perceived in European societies.



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