... with Croatia / Serbia / Montenegro;
—
Macedonia
would be in a worse position, left without most of its own territory. Moreover, a tendency to tear the remains among Bulgaria, Greece, Albania and Serbia is notable here. One of possible scenarios for Macedonia in this case is to form a confederation with Bulgaria or Serbia.
Only nationalist population of the region could support such a radical scenario, it would seriously shut off the Balkans from the EU in mid-term perspective. At the same time, in a long run, in the context of the region, this is one of the options for a long-term settlement of existing national problems.
The Importance of Provisional and Interim Measures
If the ...
... that the leaders of these Balkan nations (Tomislav Nikolić, Milorad Dodik, Bosnia’s Muslim leader Bakir Izetbegović and Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov) stated their unequivocal desire to attend the May 9 celebrations in Moscow, unlike their Montenegrin,... ... for Serbia as Victory Day has for Russia. There are several reasons for this:
The complex nature of military operations in the Balkans, especially Yugoslavia.
[1]
The fact that there are other memorable dates and events from World War II.
The importance ...
... no Alliance soldiers on its territory. But peacekeeping missions and NATO military bases have been stationed in the “problem” countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo is a few dozen kilometers away from the Macedonian border. So these republics are already under an “obtrusive custody” of the Alliance.
Generally speaking, NATO will consider the possibility of further expansion in the Balkans. The reasons behind this are as follows: putting an important part of Europe under its control, eliminating some “blank points” on the map, and making the fragmented space of the region manageable and uniform. To join NATO, countries ...
... Most investment ($8 million) was made by Russia’s Protek Group, a pharmaceutical company, which is building a
new plant in Skopje
. Lukoil has operated a network of
25 filling stations
in the country since 2005; and there is an agreement on
Macedonia’s joining the South Stream Project
. Promising fields of investment include agriculture, light industry, and religious tourism (Ohrid region). Given the country's prime location at the crossroads of the southern Balkans near Italy, Turkey and the North African coast, the development of a railway or air hub in Skopje would seem viable.
Potential Partners
Slovenia
Lukoil.ru
Pharmaceutical plant Krka-Rus in the town of
Istra
By the end of 2011, Russian direct investment ...
