CRVENKOVSKI IN ALBANIA
Macedonian president Branko Crvenkovski was scheduled to make a working visit to Albania on July 18, Bulgarian news agency Focus reported.

MACEDONIAN ALMANAC
The second edition of the Macedonia Almanac, published for the first time in 1931, was presented at the European Parliament on July 15, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.  The book is a full encyclopedia of the geographical region of Macedonia, located today in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, and has 1000 pages and includes more than 3500 photos.

SERBIA’S EU BID
Members of Serbia’s parliament and government want to adopt 32 laws by the end of September as a condition for EU membership, Serbian news agency Tanjug reported on July 15. “Fifty-one laws altogether were due to have been adopted thus far, but so far that figure stands at only two. Receiving EU candidate status depends on the adoption of the remaining 49,” deputy prime minister Bozidar Delic said.

SCHEFFER ON NAME DISPUTE
Nato Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer reiterated on July 15 that resolution of Macedonian-Greek dispute over the name requires flexibility from both countries, in particular from Skopje, Macedonian news agency Makfax reported. “We must understand that our friends in Skopje want to join Nato, not vice versa. You know that Greece is inside, while Skopje is not. In other words, flexibility is needed from all, but we should not forget the situation in which one country aspires to join Nato. Perhaps it’s difficult to say this, but that’s the issue,” Scheffer said.

CROATIA AND THE US
Croatia’s parliament has ratified an agreement with the US defining the legal status of American troops while in Croatia, the Associated Press reported on July 15. The Status of Forces Agreement will allow the US to try its soldiers if they commit crimes in Croatia. Croatia can recall the waiver in special cases.

UNTAXED INCOMES
Romania ranks first in the European Union in terms of the payment of “cash in hand” salaries, after almost a quarter of Romanians said that they had received untaxed money from their employers, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on informal employment, Ziarul Financiar reported on July 15. The share of Romanians who receive untaxed wages is almost five times higher than the European average of five per cent. The  report says that Romania is among the top countries in terms of informal employment, close to Bulgaria.