Analysis with Andreja Stojkovski: the European elections and Macedonian bilateral relations with the neighbors
The European elections ended without a change in the parliamentary majority, but with an increase in the number of far-right MPs. The composition of the European Parliament may not undergo major changes, but changes are taking place in the domestic politics of member states with great political influence. What this will mean for the Union and its individual policies in the future, we analyze with Andreja Stojkovski from the Prespa Institute. The enlargement policy, the green agenda, as well as the Common Foreign and Security Policy are some of the topics we discussed. We also analyzed our strained relations with our neighbors and the expectations from the future Macedonian Government when it comes to bilateral agreements with the neighbors.
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Macedonia got a new President - Eastern European countries are fighting for democracy
Analysis of Macedonian diplomacy, Callings from Georgia and Ukraine on the situation with the protests and the war.
The first guest in this edition of Labyrinth is the former Ambassador of Macedonia to Sweden and Romania, Tihomir Ilievski. We talked about the oath taken by the new President and the reactions it caused among our neighbors. Despite the reactions and difficulties in bilateral relations, the diplomat is still optimistic about the European integration of Macedonia, as well as about the normalization of relations in the entire Balkans.
In Georgia, massive civil protests are taking place over the law on "foreign agents" which moves the country away from the European path, but also seriously threatens the livelihood and freedom of Georgian citizens. From Tbilisi, we were joined by Ekaterine Basilaia - director of the Center for Media and Social Research of Georgia, who explained in more detail what this law is and why so many people took to the streets. We discussed the use of excessive force by the police in arresting peaceful protesters and the legal fight to protect those detained.
In Labyrinth, we also included the volunteer in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, Volodymyr Sapekhin. Volodymyr has been going to the fronts and back for more than two years. We talked about the current situation on the fronts, about the progress of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, but also about his personal feelings about the two realities he lives in.
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France is dealing with the new political situation – Serbia is on its feet after the terrible accident in Novi Sad
Analysis of the situation in France and Georgia after the elections and testimony from the protests in Serbia
After the elections in France, a new momentum took place in French politics. The coalition is on glass legs, and new elections are possible only after a year - explains in Labyrinth, the political advisor from the ranks of Macron's party, Mathias Vasquez. Vasquez was also part of the observation mission of the elections in Georgia and gives us more detailed information about the irregularities in the implementation of the elections, which resulted in mass protests.
The young director Leonid Velkovski, who is currently studying in Novi Sad, is also a guest in Labyrinth, and he conveys to us the atmosphere of the mass protests that took place there after the terrible accident at the railway station in which 14 people died.
Watch the full episode.
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France with a challenge to form a Government - NATO with new Declarations
Reporting from Washington and Analysis from Paris
The largest military alliance marked the 75th anniversary of its existence with a Summit whose focus is the war on European soil. The leaders of the member states gathered in the American capital to confirm the commitment to help Ukraine. Some of them used the margins of the Summit for meetings related to bilateral issues. A meeting between the Macedonian and Greek Prime Ministers did not take place, and journalists behind the scenes say that there was no interest on the part of the major powers to discuss such issues within the framework of the Summit. From the press room in Washington, we include Romanian military reporter and senior political correspondent Cristina Cileacu. In addition to the fact that the Alliance confirmed the commitments to help Ukraine, Cileacu also informed us about the other agreed strategic determinations, such as declaring China a country enabling Russian aggression. We asked Chileaku tofollow up the meetings of the Macedonian Prime Minister.
From the French capital, on the other hand, we are talking with an advisor in the French Assembly on topics related to the great upheaval that occurred during the elections. Councilor Matthias Vasquez from the ranks of Macron's party talks about the mood of the voters and the actions of the parties that led to this turn. At the moment, the main challenge facing France is the election of a prime minister, which the winning coalition seems to be having difficulty electing. Vasquez is a good expert on the Macedonian and Balkan situations, given the fact that he was previously on missions in these countries, so we used this call to ask him for his opinion on the French proposal that was imposed after the Bulgarian veto announcements.
Watch the entire show.
