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Southeast Europe
August 10, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
its net profit amounted to €42.9mn. EPCG’s
net profit increased more than six-fold due to higher electricity production, which the company said was thanks to the stable operation of its production facilities and favourable hydro- meteorological conditions.
The statistics offices and main power companies in Bosnia and Serbia haven’t released H1 data
yet, though the Bosnian Federation, Bosnia’s larg- est entity, reported in August that net electricity
Rightwing Macedonian parties to boycott name deal referendum
Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje
28 Macedonian rightwing political parties and NGOs led by the small pro-Russian United Macedonia party have launched a campaign to boycott the referendum on the name deal with Greece due to be held on September 30.
The referendum is a crucial step in the implementa- tion of the name deal with Greece, which will unblock Macedonia's EU and Nato integration processes. The question that will be posed in the referendum is: Are you for EU and Nato integration by accepting the deal between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece? Under the deal Macedonia has agreed to change its name to North Macedonia.
Around 910,000 people, or half of the eligible voters, would need to vote in the referendum to make it successful.
The coalition behind the campaign called “Macedonia Boycotts” will be led by Janko Bacev,
production by hydropower plants more than dou- bled y/y to 2,175 GWh through June. Macedonia, while its hydro capacity is fairly small, released power generation results broadly in line with the picture in Albania and Montenegro. Macedonia’s gross electricity generation fell by 8.1% and 9.6% y/y respectively in April and May, statistics office data indicated on July 25. Yet the overall fall in output was the cause of lower production at ther- mal power plants, which was partly compensated for by 173% higher hydropower production.
leader of the small United Macedonia party.
One of the signatories is the distinguished former member of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, Filip Petrovski.
In an interview with broadcaster Alsat-M, Bacev confirmed that his party is pro-Russian oriented and that Macedonia does not need the EU or Nato, but an alliance with Russia.
Moscow is openly against the accession of more countries from the Western Balkans into Nato, with the country’s foreign ministry claiming July 12 that Macedonia was being "pulled into Nato by force" and that such moves do not strengthen security, but deepen divisions and tensions in Europe. Two Russian diplomats were expelled from Greece last month, and two other Russian citizens banned from entering the country last month, after Athens accused Russia of trying to foment opposition to the historic name deal with Macedonia.