Greece is concerned about the possibility that a "loose confederation" between Serbia-Montenegro and Skopje might be formed, as a direct consequence of the dramatic developments in Croatia.
The Greek pro-government newspaper "Ta Nea" voiced such assertions yesterday, adding that within this confederation, the "Republic of Skopje would be called Macedonia." "Ta Nea" says that concerns about the formation of a new confederation were expressed on Tuesday at the session of the Executive board of the ruling PASOK, by Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and European Commissioner Hristos Papucis.
"Ta Nea" writes, these two officials called upon information from European and American sources.
The Bulgarian media is writing in detail about the latest developments in Croatia and the fall of the Republic Serbian Kraina into the hands of the Croatian army.
The Sofia newspaper "Trud" believes that the great powers have shaken hands on their bargains and left Tudjman and Milosevich to operationalize the deals. The big population migration, according to these sources, is a part of the deal, whereby it is stated that the Serbs are not fleeing Kraina, but are being evacuated by orders of Belgrade.
The Serb-Montenegro federation remains the biggest state on the Balkans, which pleases Russia, and satisfies U.S. and German interests, as well.
"The only thing left in the dark," "Trud" writes, "is the fate of Macedonia. Belgrade will try to grab it after occupying it, under the excuse of protecting the Serbian minority in Macedonia. In the meantime, Moscow and Athens will pressure Macedonia into some form of economic annexation to Serbia," "Trud" writes.
"Because of the increased uncertainty and instability in the region, more than ever, it is in Skopje's interest to give up its unyielding policy, in order to find a way out of the dispute with Athens," Greek Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said in his interview yesterday for the pro-government newspaper "Ta Nea."
In answering a question about the recent visit of U.S. mediator Matthew Nimetz to Macedonia, Arsenis said that it was not clear how much progress he had made in his talks with President Gligorov.
Two congressional delegations from the U.S. will be staying in Macedonia today.
The first one, led by Congressman Ike Skelton, democratic representative from the state of Missouri, will meet with representatives of the UNPREDEP mission in Macedonia, and visit the U.S. contingent serving with UNPREDEP.
The second delegation, led by Congressman Harold Rogers, republican representative from the state of Kentucky, president of the congressional Sub-committee on budget issues and Richard Muse, state under secretary for management, will be received by President Kiro Gligorov.
The visit is aimed at getting better acquainted with the activities of the U.S. representatives in Macedonia and talks with the Macedonian leaders, the U.S. Information Center reports.
MAKPRESS reports that more and more Macedonian citizens are coming to the Macedonian embassy in Sofia, who have become victims of criminal gangs in Sofia or other Bulgarian towns, where they go for shopping or on summer vacation.
Usually, they are left without passport and money. Also, MAKPRESS writes, it is very risky to travel to Bulgaria by car. Stealing and re-selling cars is one of the most wide-spread and developed criminal branches in Bulgaria.
The Macedonian consul in Sofia Todor Nanov says that he spends most of his time at work servicing robbed Macedonian citizens. Before the beginning of the new wave of tourists, he advises holiday-makers to be extremely careful on the roads and parkings, the restaurants and resorts themselves.
In the next 12 months, the Deputy Finance Minister Hari Kostov will be staying at the World Bank in Washington, where he will be working as an assistant in the group which Macedonia is a member of.
The group through which Macedonia is active in the World Bank is led by Holland, and also includes Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Moldavia, Romania, Ukraine and Georgia. Each one gives certain representatives according to the size of the quota with which it participates in the World Bank.
As most powerful, Holland heads the group as president, Romania holds the deputy spot, while Bulgaria acts as an assistant. According to Macedonia's quota, it is given a one-year mandate as assistant, which will be acceded from October by Deputy Finance Minister Hari Kostov.
During the recent visit of a Turkish economic delegation to Macedonia, as a guest of the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Memed Savas, member of the Turkish delegation and representative of the Turkish Agricultural Bank, announced the possibility of opening a branch of this bank in Macedonia. He stated that such a step would enable greater economic cooperation between the two countries.
The Turkish Agricultural Bank has 1,400 branches in Turkey with 40,000 employees and a capital of US$ 12 billion. It has joint banks in all states formed after the break up of the former Soviet Union, and in Germany.
In the six months of this year, compared to the same period in 1994, the industrial production in Macedonia has dropped 14.2%. Namely, a 17.9% decline is recorded with the production of instruments of labour, with the materials for production - 12%, general consumption goods - 9.5%.
A drop in industrial production is noticed with 25 industrial branches, whose participation in the structure of industrial production is 73.1%.
The biggest decrease is in the textiles, food and tobacco industry, while an increase is only spotted in 7 industrial branches - electric economy, production of chemical products, beverages, etc.
As to construction, the value of the construction work in the period January-May 1995 has increased 19.1%. On the other hand, the physical scope of the construction work, expressed in effective hours, notes a 10.3% plunge.
In the sphere of agriculture, greater production results were achieved in 1994 in comparison with 1993, and the physical scope of the overall agricultural production has increased 7.8%. The index of the physical scope in the public sector has increased 6.4%, and in the individual sector - 8.5%.