Politics

The politics of the Republic of Macedonia occurs within the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Executive Branch

The role of the President of the Republic is mostly ceremonial, with the real power resting in the hands of the President of the Government. The President is the commander-in-chief of the state armed forces and a president of the state Security Council. The President of the Republic is elected every five years and they can be elected twice at most. The President is obliged to entrust the mandate for constituting the Government to a candidate from the party or parties which has/have a majority in the Assembly. The Government is elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly.

The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The power of the President of the Republic is mostly limited, with the real power resting in the hands of the President of the Government of Macedonia. The last election was last held October 2004: Branko Crvenkovski was elected president in a two-round ballot with 60.6%, defeating Sasko Kedev with 39.4%.

The current government is a coalition of VMRO-DPMNE, the Democratic Party of Albanians, the Liberal Party of Macedonia, the New Social Democratic Party, the Socialist Party of Macedonia, and the Party for the Movement of Turks in Macedonia.

Legislative Branch

The Assembly (Sobranie) has 120 members, elected for a four year term, by proportional representation.

Judicial Branch

Judiciary power is exercised by courts, with the court system being headed by the Judicial Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and the Republican Judicial Council. The assembly appoints the judges.

Foreign Relations

The Republic of Macedonia is a member of a number of international organisations such as the United Nations, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Council of Europe, associate member of La Francophonie and World Trade Organization (WTO). It is seeking to join NATO and the European Union, although its accession to either is unlikely to occur before 2008 and 2012, respectively. In December 2005, the leaders of the EU formally named it as a candidate country but did not set a date for starting entry talks.

The Republic of Macedonia is represented abroad by embassies in the following countries: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, People's Republic of China, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and the Vatican.

The Republic of Macedonia also maintains consulates or representative offices in Pristina, Serbia; Thessaloniki, Greece; Toronto, Canada; Detroit, USA; Istanbul, Turkey and Podgorica, Montenegro. There are also permanent missions at the UN, NATO, EU, UNESCO, Council of Europe, and FAO headquarters. There is currently no representation in Taiwan (Republic of China) since 2001 when diplomatic relations were formally severed between the two countries and the Macedonian embassy in Beijing was reopened.

Relations with Greece

The Republic of Macedonia generally has good relations with Greece and includes substantial foreign investment to the Republic of Macedonia from Greece. However, the naming dispute has inhibited the establishment of full diplomatic relations so far but has not prevented Greece and the Republic from engaging in military and security co-operation, cross-border investments, and cultural exchanges. The November 2005 European Commission report states that, "Relations with Greece have improved in the last few years. Greece is the most important investor in the country (57% of the total foreign investments) and trade has been constantly increasing".

The November 2006 European Commission report states that, "In December 2005 the two countries opened an Office for Consular, Economic and Trade Relations in Bitola and a Consulate in Thessaloniki respectively. Cooperation has developed in many areas, including transport, health, security, culture and customs. However, there has been no progress on the name issue which remains an open problem. Renewed efforts are needed, with a constructive approach, to find a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the name issue with Greece, under the auspices of the UN, within the framework of UN Security Council Resolutions (EEC) No 817/93 and (EEC) No 845/93, thereby contributing to regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations".

Former Greek foreign minister, M. Papakonstandinou, clearly expressed Athens' position towards the republic, "Greek interests demand that this state survives. It must exist [...] This is the firm position of [both ND and PASOK]".

Due to the dispute over the name, the United Nations agreed to a provisional reference - "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) when it became a member state in 1993. Most international organisations adopted the same convention, including the European Union, NATO, the International Monetary Fund, the European Broadcasting Union, and the International Olympic Committee, among others. The EU recognises the country as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the negotiations with the EU are held using this reference.

However, an increasing number of countries have abandoned the United Nations provisional references and have recognised the country as the Republic of Macedonia instead. These include the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, and the People's Republic of China, although as the UN name for the country is FYROM, the constitutional name is only used in relations where a state not recognizing it is not a party.

From 1992 to 1995, the two countries also engaged in a dispute over the Republic's first flag, which incorporated the Vergina Sun symbol, a symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Macedon. Its adoption by the Republic of Macedonia, on 3 July 1992, was seen as a reaction by Skopje to Athens' pressure to change the name. This aspect of the dispute was permanently resolved after an interim accord between the two states, when the flag was changed by an act of parliament, in October 1995.

Irredentist ethnic Macedonian groups, however, propagate the idea of United Macedonia, calling for the bringing of Greek and Bulgarian territories under the control of the Republic of Macedonia.

Relations with Bulgaria

The Republic of Macedonia maintains uneven relations with the Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgaria was the first country to recognise Macedonian independence and the republic under its constitutional name. Many Macedonian students matriculate in Bulgarian universities. Bulgaria supports the Macedonian bid to enter the EU and NATO. It also donated a large amount of tanks, artillery and other materials to the Macedonian army.

Issues have been raised over what many Bulgarians view as appropriation and falsification of their history, and the treatment in the Republic of Macedonia of people espousing a Bulgarian national identity. The organisation of the Bulgarian minority in the Republic of Macedonia "Radko" for example (which was later banned by the Macedonian Constitutional Court) had been publicly harassed after they claimed that there is no Macedonian ethnicity today, and the perpetrators were acclaimed as heroes by the media.

Bulgaria is also concerned at repeated territorial claims against it, backed by the Skopje authorities; for instance, according to the new Macedonian encyclopaedia (funded by the Ministry of Culture), some parts of Bulgaria are represented in Macedonia.

Another point of contention in the relationship between the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria is the latter's refusal to recognise the existence of a separate Macedonian ethnicity, instead considering Macedonians to be Bulgarians and their language as a regional "norm" based on local Bulgarian dialects. The so called "language dispute", which started in 1993 and was effectively impeding diplomatic relations, was resolved in 1999 when the two governments adopted the formula "the official language in the Republic of Macedonia, and the official language in Bulgaria" in their bilateral agreements where they use the Macedonian and Bulgarian languages.

Similarly, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court has banned the political party of the ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria UMO Ilinden-Pirin as separatist; this measure was found not to be "proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued" on October 20, 2005 by the European Court of Human Rights.

European Union Candidacy and Membership

The EU leaders on the meeting held in Thessaloniki in 2003 promised western Balkan countries that they will become an integral part of the EU, once they meet the established criteria. As part of the ongoing efforts to expand its membership, the European Union (EU) granted the Republic of Macedonia candidate status on 17 December 2005, but with no promise of when such negotiations could start. France had made a budget deal as a condition for granting the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia candidate status and Greece agreed not to veto the decision on the premise that the name dispute will be resolved. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied for full membership on 22 March 2004. Vlado Buckovski, then minister of defence and later prime minister, hailed the decision as a "one-way ticket" to the EU for his country.

According to the EU, namely in accordance with its Copenhagen criteria, the main obstacles towards eventual EU membership for Republic of Macedonia concern good relations with neighbouring countries and reforms to its judicial and police systems. Also, growth rate lags behind that of most EU members, unemployment is high, and foreign investment is relatively low. The decentralisation process imposed after the six-month conflict in 2001 still requires full implementation. In principle, the relatively low population and European characteristics of the Republic promise few strains on the EU budget.

The naming dispute with Greece remains an unresolved issue in the country's accession to the EU. On August 29, 2006, the Greek foreign minister, Ms.Dora Bakoyannis, affirmed that "...the Hellenic Parliament, under any composition, will not ratify the accession of the neighbouring country to the EU and NATO if the name issue is not resolved beforehand".