World

Why tensions with neighbours have stalled North Macedonia’s EU bid

Published

1 year ago

September 30, 2024

Why tensions with neighbours have stalled North Macedonia’s EU bid

EU ambassadors failed to approve the opening of the next chapter of EU accession talks with Skopje last week.

In the rural highlands where North Macedonia’s north-east borders Bulgaria’s west, workers swelter in the late September heat.

They’re entering the final stages of building a strategically critical high-speed road connecting the capitals of Skopje and Sofia.

The road is part of the planned ‘Corridor 8’ route linking Italy’s Adriatic coast by sea to Albania, then stretching all the way through North Macedonia to the port of Varna on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. A rail connection along the same corridor is also in the works.

When complete, it will anchor the Western Balkan nations of Albania and North Macedonia into Europe’s transport and trading network, quite literally paving their way into the European Union, while also providing NATO with a strategic military corridor.

But the rail and road project, like North Macedonia’s bid to join the European bloc, has been rigged with obstacles, delays and disputes.

The country’s populist prime minister Hristijan Mickoski has accused Bulgaria of failing to commit to the rail route on its territory, saying the railway will end in a “dead end” on the Bulgarian border. He has threatened to divert the EU funds dedicated to the project to another route known as Corridor 10, which would link Skopje with Belgrade and Budapest to the north, where Eurosceptic nationalists considered close to Mickoski are in government.

The corridor dispute comes amid what Bulgarian officials see as a further unravelling in relations between the two countries, which have plunged to a new low since the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party scored victory in North Macedonia’s parliamentary and presidential elections last May.

A long-standing dispute with Greece over North Macedonia’s name has also resurfaced, as nationalists in Skopje informally refer to the country as ‘Macedonia’ in what officials in Athens see as a blatant violation of the 2018 Prespa agreement.

It meant there was no unanimous agreement among EU ambassadors last week to open the first negotiating chapters on North Macedonia’s accession to the bloc. Neighbouring Albania, meanwhile, has been given the green light.

EU bets on cash-for-reforms strategy

Despite Albania now overtaking its neighbour, officials in Brussels and Skopje still hope the recently-installed Macedonian government will remain focused on its accession path.

The EU executive is betting on its new €6-billion Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, under which it will inject investment into the seven Western Balkan candidate countries over the next three years in return for reforms designed to bring their economies and societies closer to the EU.

The €6 billion – which consists of €2 billion in grants and €4 billion in concessional loans – will be distributed according to each country’s GDP and population, but only made available once they have implemented so-called ‘reform agendas’ designed to align their laws, standards and practices with those of the EU.

Another unique feature of the Growth Plan is that countries that fail to hit their reform targets could see the funds allocated to them diverted to other countries in the Western Balkans region.

EU sources say the model is designed to create “competition” between neighbours and incentivise quicker reforms.

“Luckily, the new North Macedonian government has really bought into the EU accession process as did the previous government,” a diplomatic source said. “When the new government was sworn in, there were no major deviations from the reform agenda negotiated by the previous government.”

“But the proof is in the pudding. We’ll need to wait and see if they implement these reforms,” the diplomat added.

The cash-for-reforms model is part of Brussels’ plan to accelerate reforms on a raft of issues including the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. The reform agendas are expected to be endorsed as early as October, meaning the first “pre-financing” payments could be disbursed by the end of this year.

All countries – with the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina – have to date submitted their draft reform agendas, as officials in Sarajevo are still deciding how the country’s parliamentary assembly should endorse the plans.

“If a country doesn’t meet its commitment under their reform agendas, the money allocated to it could be transferred to another country in the Western Balkans, creating an element of competition completely new compared to previous financing instruments,” an EU official explained.

Another EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that tackling corruption was one of the biggest challenges in North Macedonia and other candidate countries in the region, but that the EU executive had robust mechanisms to safeguard its funding.

“Corruption is present. But we have a policy of zero tolerance for corruption and very strict frameworks in place,” the EU official said, “If it happens, and it does, our mechanisms kick in.”

Member states wield veto power

But even if Skopje successfully meets all its targets and reaps the benefits of the Growth Plan, it can only progress on its path to EU membership if it continues to mend the relationship with neighbouring Bulgaria.

That will prove challenging as lawmakers in Sofia and Skopje continue to exchange combative rhetoric.

Each member state must give its explicit green light to the opening of each step in the EU accession process.

Responding to EU ambassadors’ failure to move on accession talks with North Macedonia, former Bulgarian premier Boyko Borissov – who leads the biggest party in the Bulgarian parliament and chairs its foreign affairs committee – said Skopje had to “face the consequences of its actions,” accusing Mickoski’s government of blaming Bulgaria for delays in its membership bid.

Borissov recently called for the resignation of North Macedonia’s deputy prime minister and transport minister after a war of words involving the Corridor 8 route linking the country’s capitals.

Bulgaria will vote in its seventh election in just three years on October 27, following multiple failures to form a government.

Related Topics:Albania EU Enlargement Featured North Macedonia Western Balkans

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World

A look at some of the contenders to be Iran’s supreme leader after the killing of Khamenei

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

A look at some of the contenders to be Iran’s supreme leader after the killing of Khamenei

Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years before he was killed in the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment.

It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.

The supreme leader has the final say on all major decisions, including war, peace and the country’s disputed nuclear program.

In the meantime, a provisional governing council composed of President Masoud Pezeshkian, hard-line judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and senior Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi is guiding the country through its biggest crisis in decades. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that a new supreme leader would be chosen early this week.

The supreme leader is appointed by an 88-member panel called the Assembly of Experts, who by law are supposed to quickly name a successor. The panel consists of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected after their candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s constitutional watchdog.

Khamenei had major influence over both clerical bodies, making it unlikely the next leader will mark a radical departure.

Here are the top contenders.

Mojtaba Khamenei

The son of Khamenei, a mid-level Shiite cleric, is widely considered a potential successor. He has strong ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard but has never held office. His selection could prove awkward, as the Islamic Republic has long criticized hereditary rule and cast itself as a more just alternative.

Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi

Arafi is a member of the provisional government council. The senior Shiite cleric was handpicked by Khamenei to be a member of the Guardian Council in 2019, and three years later he was elected to the Assembly of Experts. He leads a network of seminaries.

Hassan Rouhani

Rouhani, a relative moderate, was president of Iran from 2013 to 2021 and reached the landmark nuclear agreement with the Obama administration that U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped during his first term. Rouhani served on the Assembly of Experts until 2024, when he said he was disqualified from running for reelection. Rouhani criticized it as an infringement on Iranians’ political participation.

Hassan Khomeini

Khomeini is the most prominent grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He is also seen as a relative moderate, but has never held government office. He currently works at his grandfather’s mausoleum in Tehran.

Ayatollah Mohammed Mehdi Mirbagheri

Mirbagheri is a senior cleric popular with hard-liners who serves on the Assembly of Experts.

He was close to the late Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a fellow hard-liner who wrote that Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce “special weapons,” a veiled reference to nuclear arms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mirbagheri denounced the closure of schools as a “conspiracy.”

He is currently the head of the Islamic Cultural Center in Qom, the main center for Islamic teaching in Iran.

World

US cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Iranian missile capabilities

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

US cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Iranian missile capabilities

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The U.S. has been cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Iran’s missile capabilities after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the plan, and while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey stated on Sunday Britain had “stepped up alongside the Americans.”

“The only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at source, in their storage depots or the launchers which are used to fire the missiles,” Starmer confirmed in a recorded statement to the nation.

“The U.S. has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose,” he said. “We have taken the decision to accept this request.”

The decision came amid escalation across the Middle East in the wake of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory missile and drone attacks, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on a plan to use British bases for limited strikes on Iranian missile capabilities. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

On Feb. 28, in the wake of Operation Epic Fury, Starmer confirmed British planes “are in the sky today” across the Middle East “as part of coordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies.”

Healey went on to disclose Sunday that two Iranian missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus, where Britain maintains key sovereign base areas.

The Royal Air Force confirmed that Typhoon jets operating from Qatar as part of the joint U.K.-Qatar Typhoon Squadron successfully intercepted an Iranian drone heading toward Qatar.

About 300 British personnel are stationed at a naval facility in Bahrain, where Iranian missiles and drones struck nearby areas.

“We’re taking down the drones that are menacing either our bases, our people or our allies,” Healey told “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” on Sky. “We’ve stepped up alongside the Americans. We’ve stepped up our defensive forces in the Middle East. We’re flying those sorties.”

ISRAEL’S LARGEST EVER MILITARY FLYOVER HAMMERS IRANIAN MILITARY TARGETS

British Defense Secretary John Healey stressed that the U.K. had “no part” in the American-Israeli strikes on Iran. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)

Healey also made sure to stress that the U.K. had “no part” in the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and insisted all British actions were defensive. “All our actions are about defending U.K. interests and defending U.K. allies,” he said.

When asked if the U.K. would join the U.S. in offensive action, Healey said, “I’m not going to speculate,” according to Sky News.

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Downing Street also confirmed Feb. 28 that Starmer and President Donald Trump had spoken by phone about the “situation in the Middle East,” the BBC reported.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Downing Street for comment.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies

Army deployed and some areas in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region put under curfew after deadly violence over Khamenei’s killing.

By AFP, Anadolu and The Associated Press

Published On 2 Mar 2026

Pakistan has called in the military and imposed a three-day curfew in some areas following deadly protests over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint United States-Israeli attack on Saturday.

At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country on Sunday, prompting authorities to tighten security around the US embassy and consulates.