Von der Leyen: the language is welcome, the road runs through Sofia

Ursula von der Leyen ended her Balkan tour in Skopje and left two messages. The government had been waiting years for the first: Macedonian culture and the Macedonian language, according to the President of the European Commission, can make the Union richer. The second is the one we've been hearing since 2022: the first cluster still requires constitutional amendments adding Bulgarians to the Constitution. The most concrete result of the visit is a piece of advice - that Foreign Minister Timčo Mucunski request a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart in Sofia next week. Praise for the homework, while the neighbour writes the grade.

Prilep: the "untouchables" fall, and four searches ended up at police officers' homes

Public Security Bureau director Aleksandar Janev came to Prilep with a ready-made headline about the fall of the myth of the untouchables. The numbers are more serious than the slogan: 37 searches, a criminal complaint against 21 people, a safe deposit box with over 50,000 euros. But four of the searches ended up at officers from the Prilep police department, and the network, according to the Interior Ministry itself, was built over more than 15 years. Who was watching and didn't see? The same town will soon also get "Safe City", over 40 locations under cameras, with a deadline of "the coming months" and project documentation still being drawn up. The cameras will count traffic violations. Will they also see what nobody saw for 15 years?

"Pulse": a licence without an application

Dejan Jovanov - Deko, owner of the "Pulse" nightclub and first defendant in the Kočani fire case, stays in custody. The day before he reached the legal maximum of one year, the court ordered new detention in a new investigation: prosecutors claim he bribed an official at the Ministry of Economy and obtained a licence without ever applying for one, for a venue that didn't meet the requirements. The defence says the evidence was kept "under the table" for exactly this moment. Both versions are uncomfortable for the institutions. If the first is true, the permit was bought. If the second is true, detention is being extended by timing. The answer lies with the court.

Kičevo and Šupli Kamen: concrete without an assessment, a permit without a look at the ground

Construction of the new hospital in Kičevo began in the 1980s. Since then 21 ministers have passed through the town with a promise, and the latest, Sašo Klekovski, at least didn't promise a date. He says the money has been set aside, but studies are being done on whether the old structure can be used at all. After almost four decades, the state still doesn't know whether the concrete it paid for is worth anything.

Near Kumanovo, meanwhile, the state knows exactly what it signed - just not what it means on the ground. The Environment Ministry allowed sand extraction from the bed of the Pčinja, along 1,000 metres from Zubovce to Šupli Kamen, and the village took to the streets fearing it will lose its drinking water. The previous digging, residents say, left 6-7 metre pits and a permanent ban in 2019. The inspectors say the permit is in order and that stopping the work isn't their job. Then the question is for whoever signed it.

Buyers must set prices in advance, the regulator is still counting

Farmers have been given a law that looks serious on paper: a register of buyers, written contracts, certified scales and fines up to 10,000 euros, and the price must be announced in advance. The end of "we'll see how much I pay you" - at least in law. Who will check on the ground, the law doesn't say loudly enough.

A cheap Saturday and four hours of cheap daytime tariff have been talked about since spring, and the analysis was supposed to be done by the end of September. The energy regulator is still counting: a final decision is expected in December, with new prices from 1 January 2027. Meanwhile, world wheat prices rose 6.3% in a month, and global food prices are at their highest since November 2022. Bakers are holding out on old stock for now. Until when, nobody is saying.

The opposition at war with itself, Skopje City Council in whistles

In SDSM, the "12:05" platform is demanding Venko Filipče's resignation, and the party calls it "ZNAM 2.0". Instead of a debate on why the opposition isn't growing, there's a debate on who works for whom. The government can just sit back and watch.

In Skopje City Council, Levica whistled at mayor Gjorgjievski, and he called them a "wind and fog" choir. Behind it is a new rule: councillors ask up front, the mayor answers afterwards, with no follow-up. The whistles are loud. The rule is quieter and lasts longer.

Small steps with small numbers

Butel is putting out new bins against illegal dumps, and mayor Darko Kostovski says they're changing the face of the municipality. How many and where, the municipality didn't say. In Kočani the minister opened a day centre for people with disabilities with capacity for 12 users a month. Every new place is welcome, but the number itself raises the question of how many families will be left at the door.

The war that passes through the Balkans

An investigation has uncovered the Russian behind Moscow's biggest sabotage in Europe so far, the drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig. The Semtex arrived by truck via Bulgaria and Serbia - the road to the German airport ran through our neighbourhood. At the same time Russia's winter plan leaked: cut electricity and heating in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa by 90 percent, while Kyiv's Southern Bridge was hit for the second day running and the metro no longer crosses the Dnipro. On the other side of the Atlantic, Trump is considering halting diesel exports ahead of the congressional elections, while asking Europe to open its reserves.

Sport: the Scots are coming, MZT are back

3,200 Scots are arriving in Skopje, and Macedonia are still waiting for their first goal in almost a year. Sedloski is taking the criticism himself, which is at least a fair start. There's better news in basketball: MZT return to Europe after more than 25 years, and on Tuesday the Jane Sandanski arena will host a European night again. In handball, Pelister lost 24:31 to La Rioja in Bitola, then went top of the Super League. On Sunday Skopje runs: over 15,000 runners from 63 countries, with streets closed from 6am to 2pm.

The heavier part of the day has a common denominator, and it isn't Brussels. A drug network that survived 15 years, a licence issued without an application, a hospital waiting four decades, a permit for a river signed without looking at the ground. There's always a document, a signature and a remit. Rarely is there anyone who will say "this is my responsibility".