Republik Nordmazedonien

North Macedonia's prime minister Zoran Zaev has called early elections after the European Union refused to start accession talks with the country. Following the call, the president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, invited all party leaders for a meeting on Sunday (20 October) afternoon, where all agreed to hold elections on 12 April - eight months before the normal end of the term.

At his first meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev in New York, the new Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said he would never have signed the historic 2018 deal with Macedonia – but would honour it nevertheless.

The formation of the new body comes amid the continuing ‘Extortion’ case scandal that has tarnished the credibility of the crime-fighting Special Prosecution, SJO, endangered the reputation of the Social Democratic-led government of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, and caused alarm among the country’s Western allies.

The former ruling party has abandoned its attempt to cling onto power in Moldova and has gone into opposition – while still refusing the recognise the new government led by pro-EU and pro-Russian forces.

Stevo Pendarovski has been inaugurated as the new president of North Macedonia, calling for "reconciliation" in a deeply divided society.

North Maceodnia’s presidential election is headed for a second round after the top two candidates battled to a virtual tie in the first round reflecting deep divisions in the Balkan nation over its new name. Pro-Western Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival conservative Gordana Siljanovsa will face off on May 5.

Skopje Criminal Court jailed 16 people involved in the 2017 mob attack on the country's legislature, including a former interior minister who was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

The amendment that changed the country's name became law with its publication in the official gazette, a month after the parliament approved the move. North Macedonia also formally notified the United Nations about the name change, the government said.

Macedonia is poised to become NATO’s 30th member state, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Wednesday after the alliance signed an accession protocol with Skopje.

Macedonia says it is ready to accelerate accession talks to join the European Union after agreeing with Greece on a name change to end a decades-long dispute.