4 December 2021 Skopje – North Macedonia’s Government at a session on Saturday decided to freeze the prices of basic foodstuffs in wholesale and retail trade. Prices will freeze at Dec. 1, 2021 rates, and the decision will be valid until Jan. 31, 2022, with a possibility of extension if still required by the market situation, the Government said in a press release. Skopje – The 2022 agriculture budget has a development component with a focus on capital water management investments. The total budget stands at Mden 9.13 billion, which includes the basic budgets of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, the Payment Agency, the Agency for Promotion and Development of Agriculture, the Food and Veterinary Agency, the State Inspectorate for Agriculture, the State Inspectorate for Forestry and Hunting, and the National Hydrometeorological Service. Skopje – Justice Minister Bojan Marichikj said in an interview with Radio-Television Slovenia (RTV Slovenia) that strong commitment from all is needed at this point to start negotiations with the European Union sooner. “It is important to start negotiations with the EU as soon as possible. It is our duty to work on resolving the issue with Bulgaria. There is readiness on our part, but it should be based on mutual respect and European values,” said Marichikj. Skopje – The central election commission of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) will verify on Saturday the candidacy papers that are in line with required criteria for electing a party leader. Four candidacies have been submitted including that of Dimitar Kovachevski, current deputy finance minister, Frosina Remenski, former MP and SDSM vice-president, Vlastimir Aleksovski, SDSM member and activist, and Jovan Despotovski, Free Zones Authority director. Skopje – A public performance ‘Lost Modernist Utopias?’ by Berlin’s KUNSTrePUBLIK collective and students from the Faculty of Drama Arts, the Faculty of Architecture and the Fine Arts Academy will take place in Skopje on Saturday noon, near the building of former Local Council (Mesna Zaednica) in Taftalidzhe. Skopje – The Italian Street Food Festival is taking place on Saturday and Sunday at the Macedonia Square in Skopje. During the festival, the most renowned Italian restaurants in the city are offering a gastronomic journey throughout the authentic flavors of culinary tradition from some of the Italian regions. Skopje – In line with the Law on Holidays of the Republic of North Macedonia, December 8, 2021 (Wednesday) – “St. Clement of Ohrid”, is a non-working day for all citizens, said the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. Tetovo –  Afrim Gashi’s Alternativa party is set to hold a session of its Central Council on Saturday evening, where the party is to reach a final decision whether it will join the government. According to party spokesman Orhan Murtezani, the session will take place at 7 pm on Saturday at the party’s headquarters in Tetovo, and more details will be announced at a press conference after the session. Athens – Pope Francis has left Cyprus and landed in Athens for the second leg of his five-day trip to the eastern Mediterranean. Brussels – North Macedonia cannot give in to Bulgaria’s demands, and to overcome the veto in the EU some symbolic compromise or mechanism for Sofia to save its reputation will be needed. And such a change requires friendly advice from EU countries to Bulgaria that maybe it should keep in mind all domestic problems and negotiate a way out of this dispute, Florian Bieber, professor and expert on the Balkans, said in an interview with MIA. Berlin – Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for solidarity in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus and renewed her appeal for more vaccinations. “We are in the middle of this fourth wave of the pandemic in a very serious situation, in some parts of our country it can only be called dramatic,” Merkel said in her last-ever weekly video message published on Saturday. Frankfurt – Horst Eckel, the last surviving member of West Germany’s 1954 World Cup-winning squad, has died at the age of 89.