North Macedonia

Polls opened in North Macedonia on Wednesday for the first round of the presidential elections. Seven candidates are running for the presidency in a country gripped by political tensions, disappointment with democratic reforms and aspirations to join the European Union. Jana Juzová, a senior researcher at EUROPEUM Institute, analysed the situation in an interview for ČT24.

Czech president Petr Pavel welcomed the President of North Macedonia, Steve Pendarovski, at Prague Castle. According to the Castle, the invitation to the Czech Republic is intended to express the support for the country's move towards the European Union. For Český Rozhlas Plus, the head of our Brussels office, Žiga Faktor, commented on the current events in North Macedonia.

Our researcher Jana Juzová was a guest on the Evropa Plus broadcast, where she commented on the complicated relationship between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. She describes today's situation where Bulgaria denies Macedonian identity.

In the next entry of the Eastern Monitor series, our Marko Stojić deals with European Commission's reports on the Western Balkans and the potential candidate countries from the area.

The report from the conference ''Opening accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia: lessons of the past'' is now available.