Southeast Europe

The only candidate to lead the SDSM party in North Macedonia that party members can vote for on March 16 will be the current party leader, Venko Filipce, the SDSM reported to the internal election commission on Friday. According to media reports, no other party member will contest Filipce's leadership.

Filipce would begin a full term as chair of the party, which ended up as opposition after an electoral defeat in May 2024. The next major elections in North Macedonia will be held in the fall of 2025.

On February 20, the platform plans to organize a "Five Minutes of Warning" event in front of the Croatian National Bank (HNB) in Zagreb. The event aims to give citizens an opportunity to express their concerns about the increasing prices in various services and to protest the economic situation that has led to these changes.

I wonder what merits could Mickoski talk about. Because it seems he prefers to avoid the topic and hide ethnical discrimination under the rug.

"Is this not interference in the internal affairs (of North Macedonia)?", Mickoski continued. "How long will we suffer from double standards? We are not talking about a process based on the merit system, we are talking about bilateral disputes that should have nothing to do with European values (...) I have to stress that when Russia attacks and denies the Ukrainian identity that President Zelenskyy is talking about, we all criticize, we fight for the rights of the Ukrainian people and against this unprecedented aggression, but when the parliament of a European country attacks and denies the Macedonian identity and my Macedonian mother tongue, everyone is silent".

Bulgarians and Serbians from Tsaribrod and Pirot rallied on Saturday in support of the protesting students in Serbia. "We are on the big bridge in Pirot right now. We want the students' demands to be met, and we hope there will be a change in Serbia," protesters from the two towns told BTA.

Synolakis outlined three possible scenarios: a best-case scenario in which seismic activity gradually fades and ceases, similar to an event just over a decade ago; a major earthquake of unpredictable magnitude; or a small-scale volcanic eruption at Nea Kameni – an uninhabited island within Santorini’s caldera – or the Kolumbo submarine volcano, located about 8 km northeast of the island.

I've felt it in Šibenik which is 80 km away. It wasn't strong but it lasted fairly long.

Journey time between Ploče and Sarajevo is around four hours. Passenger services are scheduled to start up again from Monday, February 10, ten days after the successful testing of freight trains along the same route. For tickets and schedules, see Bosnian rail.

Stoyanov remarked that despite the political tension, Bulgaria and North Macedonia will continue to be neighbors. He noted that historically, even during the totalitarian years when border celebrations were enforced, Macedonians and Bulgarians came together to mark significant events. Today, however, efforts for joint celebrations are intentionally hindered, which he sees as a deliberate act of separation by Skopje's authorities.

The chairman emphasized that there is no harm in holding joint commemorations. He pointed out that such events have occurred in the past, and while each side is free to honor Gotse Delchev in their own way, it would be meaningful for both nations to commemorate him at his burial site. Stoyanov highlighted the importance of allowing Delchev’s relatives and heirs to pay tribute with a Bulgarian flag, as Delchev himself fought to defend that flag.

While hopeful for a display of “democracy and humanity” from the Macedonian authorities on the commemorative date, Stoyanov lamented the current state of relations, suggesting that Delchev would not be pleased with the ongoing division between people of shared heritage.

Support from syndicates and professional organisations indicates Vucic loosing grip.

Cross posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24964539

Bulgaria, meanwhile, has made it clear that its priority is securing water resources for its own needs before considering supply agreements with neighboring countries. The Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture has emphasized that domestic demand must be met first, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the future of water exports to Greece.

For local farmers, the situation is dire. They say water from the Arda River is their only source of irrigation, as the region’s infrastructure has seen little investment or maintenance over the past 60 years. Many farmers have reported declining yields, with some experiencing a 30-40% drop in production last year due to drought.

During his address, Dodik spoke about the Serbian identity in Republika Srpska, emphasizing their desire to live in their own country without intending to harm others. He controversially stated that a war had been fought based on false claims that the Bosnian Serbs had killed 300,000 people, "a narrative perpetuated by U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration". Dodik further compared the war in Bosnia to the current situation in Ukraine, asserting that Russia, under Vladimir Putin, was justified in protecting the Russian minority in Ukraine to prevent NATO's encroachment near Moscow.

The controversy has drawn reactions from various groups. The Bosnian Democratic Alliance criticized Stoilkovic for meeting Dodik in his official capacity, while the Albanian party DUI labeled Dodik as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of working to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina. DUI also condemned the government's actions, calling it a blow to North Macedonia's international reputation and its commitment to European values. Former Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani expressed his disappointment, accusing the government of undermining the Ohrid Framework Agreement and questioning the message being sent to Albanian citizens and victims of genocide.

The aim of the march is to reach the Novi Sad central square on February 1 to mark three months since a tragedy in the northern Serbian city where a concrete canopy of the local railway station collapsed and killed 15.

"This practice of 'creating' new languages - God forbid new nations, in the Balkans, of which w are all too familiar, starts exactly like this - when a nature is unclear, it is intermediate", Kocheva said. "However, such practice eventually finds another ethnonym, another linguistic labelling, which has nothing to do with its genetic derivation, i.e. with Bulgarian. In other words, I mean to say that it is no wonder that one day we will end up not only with a Shopi language and a Shopi nation, but that this language will be almost Serbian."

"I feel sorry for the Bulgarian minority in Serbia because instead of becoming a bridge of good-neighbourliness between the two countries it is becoming a hostage of Serbian political interests in the region,"

In an open letter to Serbian state officials, eight ethnic Bulgarian associations in Serbia recently condemned the newly resurged "Shopi ethnicity" narrative in that country. A key bone of contention is the support provided by the National Council of the Bulgarian National Minority, the Municipality of Bosilegrad, and the Hristo Botev National Library in Bosilegrad for A Book about Bosilegrad – Notes from the Past by Ivan Mitic, where the author claims that the local Bulgarian population is not Bulgarian but belongs to a separate Shopi nation. The letter accuses the National Council of funding a publication that undermines Bulgarian history and identity, violating its constitutional duty to protect minority rights.

The article gives the examples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia.