Winter Equipment From 15 November, Article 13 Deleted From the Tender Law, the 2027 Budget With 124.6 Billion Denars for Debt, Complaints Over Vlae

Parliament: the article on terms fell only after the decree, and questions never reached the ministers

The majority deleted Article 13 of the changes to the Public Procurement Law, the provision that opened the way for members of the State Commission for Public Procurement Appeals to be reappointed without limit. It did not delete it in the committee debate, when the opposition proposed it, but only after President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova refused to sign the decree. The article is gone, the law stays - and with it the scrapping of the "lowest price" criterion. A total of 2,158 amendments were filed on the changes. How many other provisions will be read that carefully?

Oversight of the government went even worse. The session for MPs' questions ended without a single question being asked. The ministers were not in the chamber, DUI asked for a break so the government could turn up, and Speaker Afrim Gashi counted the break against the two hours the Rules of Procedure guarantee the opposition. Then ZNAM asked for another hour. If the opposition's time can be spent waiting for ministers, what is the instrument for?

The 2027 budget: three times more money for debt than for capital investment

The draft budget for 2027 reached MPs with tidy numbers on paper: revenue of 395.4 billion denars, spending of 440.4 billion and a deficit of 3.5 percent of GDP. Another comparison matters more. Capital expenditure is planned at 40.8 billion denars, debt servicing at 124.6 billion. To cover it all, the state will borrow 183.1 billion denars in a single year.

The money for the Public Enterprise for State Roads is no longer in the Budget, so part of the corridors and motorways lives outside the table MPs have just started debating. Minister Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska says that with capital investment, delivery matters too. How much of the 40.8 billion will really be spent by December 2027?

Gas and the stock exchange: numbers that look better than they are

The government says citizens pay the lowest possible energy prices, but Eurostat calculated gas prices by purchasing power: 20.8 units per 100 kilowatt-hours, the highest in Europe, higher even than Sweden. For households that is almost theoretical, since only 496 households use gas. The real price is paid by companies, for which gas has become up to 17.8 percent more expensive.

The Macedonian Stock Exchange also shows a thin market: turnover fell 45 percent in October, and Komercijalna Banka, Alkaloid and Makpetrol account for 72.6 percent of share trading. When three shares hold almost all the turnover, that is a shop window, not a market.

Vlae: five complaints, but according to the mother up to 20 children attacked

Almost a month after the attack on a 13-year-old boy on "Delfina" square in Vlae, Skopje police will file a criminal complaint against five minors for violence. According to the mother, a group of children, mostly around 16, pushed her son into a circle and several of them beat him, using metal knuckle-dusters and aiming mostly at his head. The boy was left with head injuries and broken teeth. The complaint against five deals with the criminal side. What about the rest of the circle?

On the road: winter equipment becomes mandatory, and some drive without even a test

From Sunday, 15 November, until 15 March, winter equipment is mandatory, whether it snows or not: a 45-euro fine and 25 penalty points. Cars need winter tyres with at least 4 millimetres of tread, or 4-millimetre summer tyres with chains, while four-wheel drives need 6 millimetres. The rule is clear. Will the roads also be cleared and gritted on time?

In a single daily police bulletin, eight drivers were detained, and six of them had never passed a driving test, including two 17-year-olds from Skopje. Two others were driving despite an active ban. Who gave the 17-year-olds the keys?

Bitten by a dog: the person bitten carries the procedure

If a stray dog bites you, treatment is only the start. Because of rabies, the Food and Veterinary Agency requires a report with the exact location, a detailed description and, if you have one, a photo of the animal - otherwise the report can be rejected as unfounded. Then come 15 days of observation and three clinical examinations. In practice, a person with a wound has to remember what the dog looked like and find the responsible institution on their own.

Diabetes, water, youth: press releases without the missing number

The diabetes register counts 141,891 people, 95.09 percent of them with type 2, and ahead of World Diabetes Day patients from Gevgelija are asking for sensors and accurate glucometers which, as they put it, are not a luxury. In Bitola, the water utility promises digitalisation in 2027 while replacing cast-iron pipes more than 40 years old on "Dimitar Todorovski" Street, without saying how much water is being lost. Eight municipalities received a plaque for implementing the Law on Youth Participation.

82 years of a free Skopje

On 13 November 1944 a light snow was falling in Skopje, and more than 420 fighters were killed in the battles for the city. The Stone Bridge, the Matka hydroelectric plant, the Officers' Club and the Old Railway Station were saved then. Crossing the Stone Bridge, hardly anyone stops to think it is one of the places people died for.

Serbia after the election: a teacher for Parliament, Moscow at the door

The "Student List" won the election with 140 of 250 seats, and according to the camp close to Vučić, high-school teacher Katarina Šćepanović is being tipped as Speaker. The students pledge to end the arms trade with Israel, while the Russian ambassador is already repeating Moscow's line on Kosovo. The Balkans know this scene: justice or revenge?

Hampden: Macedonia chasing a first goal

Tonight at 20:45 the national team visits Scotland in Glasgow after four defeats and not a single goal in their Nations League group. A win keeps them in the race for direct survival in League B. After four rounds without a goal, even one strike at Hampden would be news worth waiting for.

On the heavier side of the day, the rules for citizens come with a date, a fine and a form, while the state's small print only gets read when someone forces it. Tyre tread will be measured from Sunday. How carefully will what Parliament passes on public money be measured?