Key events that characterised Albania and Macedonia in 2017

Albania

February 18,: The opposition in Albania, led by the Democratic Party of Albania, started a protest in Tirana, which continued for 3 months in the tent set up at “Nation witnesses” in Tirana, with the request for the government's resignation and the establishment of a technical government for organising parliamentary elections.

April 28th: Ilir Meta, former head of Albania's Parliament and the country's former prime minister, is elected by Albania's Parliament president of the state after several rounds of failed voting at parliamentary sessions. Meta, who replaced former President Bujar Nishani in the post, officially took office for the 5-year presidential mandate 24 July.

May 18th: Following negotiations conducted between Albania's prime minister, who is also the leader of the Socialist Party, Edi Rama and the opposition leader, who is also the leader of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, the Rama-Basa agreement -- which envisioned holding parliamentary elections, not on the originally decreed date on June 18th -- was formalised, but on June 25th.

June 14th: Gianni De Biasi formalised his departure from Albania's National Football Direction, while the Albanian Football Federation (FSHF) introduced Christian Panuccin instead on July 14th.

June 25th: Parliamentary elections were held in Albania for the election of 140 MPs to Albania's new Parliament legislature. Albania's Socialist Party won the elections, securing 70 MPs, the Democratic Party 43 mandates, the Socialist Movement for Integration 19 mandates, the Justice, Integration Party and the Unit 3 mandates and Social Democrat Party 1st.

August 26th: The informal meeting of prime ministers of Western Balkan countries, aimed at deepening regional integration with particular emphasis on economy and trade, was held in Durres.

September 9th: Gramoz Ruci, deputy of Albania's Socialist Party, is elected chairman of Albania's Parliament.

September 13th: Albania's Assembly approved the new programme and composition of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania. Prime Minister Edi Rama gets MPs' vote of confidence for the second governing mandate.

September 16th: The meeting of the NATO Military Committee was held in Tirana, with the participation of Chiefs of General Staff of the Alliance's member states, where the Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey Hulusi Akar is present.

October 19th: Albania's Prosecutor for War crimes asked Albania's Parliament authorisation for the removal of MP and former interior minister Saimir Tahiri's immunity, following an investigation launched for the criminal acts of “narcotics”, carried out in co-operation, while on October 25th Albania's Parliament dropped demand

November 27th: The government of the Republic of Albania and the Government of Kosovo have held the fourth joint meeting in the city of Korca, while several agreements and co-operation protocols were signed at its conclusion.

December 1st: Albania was engulfed by bad weather, with heavy rainfall in several cities in the country, causing floods, resulting in hundreds of people evacuated.

December 15th: The government of the Republic of Albania and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia have held the first joint intergovernmental meeting in Pogradec, Albania.

Macedonia

In 2017, Macedonia entered into a political crisis, which with the hold of extraordinary parliamentary elections on December 11, 2016, was expected to end.

After the elections, political parties deliberately negotiated the formation of the government, while due to this crisis that continued even during the first months of this year, state institutions were not fully functional, which made the normal functioning of citizens of this country more difficult.

The beginning of 2017 was also the scene of protests by the civic initiative “for joint Macedonia”.

April 27th: Following the election of Talat Xhaferi chairman of Macedonia's Parliament, protesters of the civic initiative “for joint Macedonia”, who were gathered outside the legislature's house, were forced into the institution. As a result of violent protesters targeting MPs, about 100 people were injured, including MPs, members of police forces and media representatives.

May 4th: After a several-month period of negotiations following early parliamentary elections on December 11, 2016, the parliamentary majority was formed.

May 17th: Macedonia's President Gjorge Ivanov handed the mandate to Zoran Zaev, leader of the Social Democratic League of Macedonia (LSDM), to form the new government in Macedonia.

July 8th: National Stadium “Second filip” in Skopje hosted the U final EFA Supercup between Real Madrid and Manchester United. Thousands of fans from different European countries participated in the match.

November 2nd: The sentence of 37 of the accused by the armed group for the 15 May 2015 events at “Kumanovo's <x1mage sector, in which seven persons were sentenced to life imprisonment, four were released, and other defendants received prison sentences of 12 to 40 years.

November 23rd: The governments of Macedonia and Bulgaria held a joint session between the two governments in Strumica, Macedonia, after which the ministers of the two countries' institutions signed agreements and memorandums in several areas of common importance, among which agreements for intensifying foreign affairs, training drivers in the field of defence, co-operation in cases of disasters, agreement on the removal of roaming, as well as others in the field of investments, energy, defence and tourism.

December 5th: The Criminal Court pronounced 30-day detention for deputies Krsto Mukoski, Ljuben Arnaudov and Sasho Vasilevski, while MPs Johan Tarculovski, Jacques Pesevska and Ljupco Dimovski pronounced house arrest. MPs are accused of participating in the April 27th events in Macedonia's Parliament, where 36 people are in prosecution.

December 10th: VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski resigned from the party leadership. At the party's helm, Gruevski has since 2003.