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The departure of Hungarian Prime Minister’s Fidesz party from the EU centre-right family has opened the Pandora’s Box in the European Parliament and whetted conservatives’ appetite to reshape the political scene.

SKOPJE, 10 March 2021 – The OSCE Mission to Skopje launched today a new project aimed at assisting North Macedonia in reducing the risk of trafficking and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW), which pose security risks to the country and the wider region.

“The safety of national SALW stockpiles is of paramount importance to increase security, contribute to fighting organized crime, and prevent trafficking, ultimately contributing to the security of citizens in the region and beyond,” said Clemens Koja, Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje at the opening of the kick-off event.

The project, based on input from the government of North Macedonia, builds on the results of a previous project, which the Mission delivered over the last four years.

Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Internal Affairs, said that the problem of uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons has gained importance in recent years in international, regional and national agendas. This global situation affects mass migration, which changes the existing terrorist models and therefore multiplies the potentially dangerous consequences of small arms and light weapons.

“We often see that this type of illegal and criminal activity is one of the catalysts that further transforms local incidents into much wider regional and global events. From this aspect, it is of utmost importance, on a global level, to build standards for developing effective systems for exchange of information and transparency, sharing best practices, and raising public awareness through the implementation of appropriate projects,” said Spasovski.

Otto Graf, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Skopje said that the aim of this project is to support the law enforcement sector of North Macedonia to develop its professional service. “This will help the country better address trans-national threats through small arms and light weapons as well as fight organized crime.”

​The European Union and the German Foreign Office provided financial support for both projects. Within the initial project, the Mission helped the Ministry of Internal Affairs upgrade the security infrastructure at 15 border posts throughout the country, establish standard rules of procedure for SALW stockpile management, and strengthen the role of the National SALW Commission.

Following allegations of vote-rigging, Meliza-Haradinaj-Stublla has stepped down as Kosovo’s Foreign Minister and has left the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), describing the party as “unreformable.” Haradinaj-Stublla has been the subject of recent allegations of vote-rigging in the...

“We failed to prevent the horrors that took place on the European continent, and everyone knows that the great dream of those who founded the Union was peace among us. This period is in a way a black spot, while...

Croatia is ready to hospitalise 10 COVID-19 patients from the Czech Republic and Slovakia respectively, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković tweeted on Tuesday. His announcement came after a conversation with Czech PM Andrej Babiš and Slovak PM Igor Matovič. “I have...

Bulgaria’s economy shrank by 4.2% in 2020 rather than the expected 4.9% decline predicted by the European Commission, preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute found. Bulgaria’s economy in 2020 amounted to €60.6 billion, while the gross domestic product (GDP)...

A tender for choosing a contractor for the construction of a gas interconnection connecting Serbia and Bulgaria was opened Tuesday, the EU Delegation in Serbia has announced in a statement. The new interconnection will link Niš with the Bulgarian capital...

Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic called on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday to speed up the approval of Russian vaccine Sputnik V claiming that “life is at stake.” After the head of EMA’s management board, Christa Wirthumer-Hoche, had...

Joining the European People’s Party (EPP) is not on the agenda of Italy’s right-wing Lega party, according to Tuesday’s statement by party leader Matteo Salvini, in which he said he was working with Poles and Hungarians to form a new...

As Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will visit Israel on Wednesday to learn more about vaccine strategy and production in a country he called “a leader in technologies” and “traditional partner”, the PM, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán...

Warsaw has dismissed claims by France’s EU affairs minister Clément Beaune that Polish authorities denied him access to Kraśnik, one of the “LGBT ideology-free” municipalities, citing the health situation. “Polish authorities recently indicated to me they weren’t capable of planning this...

In a Future of Europe Conference barometer released on Tuesday, 96% of Portuguese citizens felt the EU did not take their opinions into account in EU-related decisions. In a special Eurobarometer on the Future of Europe released on Tuesday, 1,027...

The Italian authorities have said they were not aware of the agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a company based in Lombardy to produce the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V on Italian territory. The agreement was revealed by...

Estonia has suggested that countries experiencing a faster spread of the virus should receive their pre-ordered vaccines first, Estonian broadcaster ERR news reported. This comes as Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas described the country’s pandemic situation as “extraordinarily critical” on...

Ireland’s defamation laws “put pressure on journalists,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told the Irish Times in an interview, adding that they “raise concerns as to the ability of the press and media to expose corruption.” The EU Commissioner planned...

The UK government has reacted angrily after European Council President Charles Michel, accused it of imposing an “outright ban” on exports of vaccines made in the UK. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has described the claims as “completely false” in a...

L'ancien ministre de l'interieur Armand Zinzindohoué a fait des recommandations, mardi 09 mars 2021, sur Urban fm dans le cadre de l'élection présidentielle.

« Que les populations gardent leur calme, aient la conscience citoyenne, aient un comportement citoyen et ne se laissent pas manipuler (...). Que chacun cultive la paix dans son milieu et autour de lui », a indiqué Armand Zinzindohoué. A en croire l'invité de la radio, il s'agit pour chaque Béninois de préserver le Bénin en cette période électorale qui est « sensible ». Une période pendant laquelle les professionnels des médias ont un grand rôle à jouer, selon l'ancien ministre de la sécurité publique.« Que les hommes des médias fassent des messages de sensibilisation, d'exhortation à la paix parce que nous avons besoin de traverser cette période sensible de la bonne manière pour qu'après le 11 avril le Bénin continue d'être bâti, que les citoyens continuent de vivre dans l'harmonie, dans la cohabitation pacifique », a plaidé Armand Zinzindohoué. Il a rassuré de ce que les institutions ont l'expérience dans l'organisation d'« élections transparentes, apaisées, justes et équitables ». « Nous ne sommes pas à notre première élection présidentielle, avec le Renouveau démocratique, c'est la 7ème élection. Le Bénin a de l'expérience », a-t-il martelé. Concernant le dispositif sécuritaire renforcé qui est observé par endroit, l'ex ministre de la sécurité publique a fait savoir que cela devait rassurer les populations.
M. M.

French President Emmanuel Macron has allowed the national archives to proceed in the declassification of archives dating back to the 1970s and earlier, allowing access to documents on the Algerian War. The Elysée announced in a press release on Tuesday...

Prime Minister Janez Janša called for Slovenian Press Agency (STA) director Bojan Veselinović to step down on Tuesday. “Ever since @STA_novice are led by director (Bojan) Veselinović, they fire sick journalists and often sell lies for the truth. It is...

A Porto nagy meglepetésre kiejtette a Juventust, mivel a 2-1-re megnyert hazai mérkőzés után kedden hosszabbítást követően csak 3-2-re kapott ki a labdarúgó Bajnokok Ligája nyolcaddöntőjében. A Borussia Dortmund 2-2-es döntetlent ért el a vendég Sevilla ellen.