Nikola Gruevski will be left without a parliamentary salary. The majority is changing the law on MPs, in which until now there was no possibility for his salary to be taken away during the term, even though he has fled seeking asylum as of mid-November in Hungary. They propose amending Article 11 with Article 11-a that reads: “If an MP has been sentenced with a final court decision to six months in prison, the MP loses the right to salary, other personal incomes and compensations for expenses”.
The expansion of the agenda was passed immediately despite the warning of Speaker Talat Xhaferi that this law is submitted in a procedure outside the deadline in which the agenda of the session was closed.
Interpellation of VMRO-DPMNE
Today on the agenda of the parliamentary session is the interpellation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Dimitrov, which was submitted by VMRO-DPMNE MPs. In the explanation it is indicated that the MPs request moral, political and professional responsibility of Minister Dimitrov.
Charges for DUI members threatening the SPO
Prosecutor Gavril Bubevski filed a criminal charge against Mefailj Arealani, lawyer of the accused DUI officials Ejup Alimi and Ismet Guru, on the grounds of suspicion that the accused has committed the crime “Endangering the security” of Article 144, paragraph 3 and paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, informed the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office. At one of the hearings for the “Titanic 3” case, prosecutors Bubevski and Fetai stressed that lawyer Arslani had threatened them and endangered their security, but he has denied this, emphasizing that as a lawyer he is performing his work professionally and the accusations of the prosecutors are for the media space.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy with report for embezzlement of 19 million euros
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy today submitted criminal charges to the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office against an unknown perpetrator, along with all the documents of the analysis of the pension system with which the irregularities were discovered in the allocation of the contributions for some of the future pensioners. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is straightening out the injustice that the previous government has inflicted on these people and is returning the money to the citizens. For this purpose, an amount of 19 million euros provided from the budget will be paid to the private pension companies. These funds will be allocated to the insured who have been damaged, namely around 400.000 denars to each one of them.
SSNM will be demanding higher salaries for journalist
The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers, SSNM, has started a campaign for improving the social status of journalists and media workers. As they say from SSNM, this requires solidarity and association in order to reach the common goal – higher salaries and protection of workers’ rights.
New eco-busses on gas
The Public Transport Company – Skopje (JSP), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, today signed an agreement for a loan, as well as a municipal and state guarantee for the procurement of 35 new low-floor ecological busses on natural gas. The agreements were signed by Minister of Finance, Dragan Tevdovski, EBRD Deputy Director of the Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure Team, Lin O’Grady, the Mayor of the City of Skopje, Petre Silegov and the Director of JSP, Kristijan Cuskov. The EBRD will provide 10 million euros through a loan, while JSP will provide 1.8 million euros from its own funds. The busses will be included in the public transportation no later than the beginning of next year.
Skopje again the most polluted city
Skopje this morning again was the most polluted city in Macedonia, but also in the world. According to the air quality index of the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, Karpos is the most polluted municipality this morning with a concentration of 214 mg per cubic meter PM10 particles.
Anticorruption commission still has no members
The Committee on Election and Appointment Issues today debated on several draft decisions on the appointment of presidents, vice presidents, members and deputy members of several commissions, but not about the composition of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interests. The Government has promised that there will be a new Anticorruption commission by the announcement of the elections, which according to statements is expected to be on February 8.
Conference on the fight against antisemitism and distortion of the Holocaust
On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the conference “Fight against antisemitism and the experiences of the Holocaust has started in the Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia.
Ambassador Thomas Michael Bayer, Special Representative of Austria in the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance – IHRA, Ambassador Jovan Tegovski, National Coordinator and Head of the Macedonian Delegation to the IHRA, British Ambassador to Macedonia H.E. Ms. Rachel Galloway and Beta Haralanova, President of the Institute for the Preservation of Holocaust Memory in Bulgaria, all spoke in the first panel “Challenges of contemporary antisemitism and distortion of the Holocaust in Europe, ways and meanings in dealing with this phenomenon”,
Xhabir Deralla, President of CIVIL, Mire Mladenovski, President of EUROCLIO, Goran Sadikario, Executive Director of the Holocaust Memorial Center and Tamara Grncaroska, journalist from TV Telma spoke in the second panel, “Activism of civil society and the role of the media in the fight against hate speech and acts encouraged by hate speech”.
D. Muratov
Photography: Кiro Popovski/kolektif.mk
