North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Timčo Mucunski said that he expects guarantees from Brussels that the constitutional changes will be the last demand placed on his country before accession negotiations begin. Speaking to Politico, Mucunski, as cited by BGNES, reiterated the position of the VMRO-DPMNE government: "Our fear is: if we do them, what happens if, six months later, Bulgaria comes to us with a request on issues related to history, identity and language?"

Timčo Mucunski voiced some concern about how speedily Ukraine and Moldova’s membership bids were moving along. ''I understand the strategic imperative that exists, for the member states, to open their doors for Ukraine. However, the quickest and probably the cheapest investment in European stability that can be made is for the European Union to open its doors to the entire region as soon as possible. Because I don’t think selective enlargement is the best option", Timčo Mucunski said.

Romania has signed a framework agreement with the German defense group Rheinmetall for the construction of ammunition powder plant worth EUR 535 million, the country’s Ministry of Economy announced, reported BTA. Romania and Rheinmetall – the largest European arms manufacturer – will produce the gunpowder necessary for domestic defense needs and for the entire region, the ministry said in its statement.

Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and will take three years to complete. Once operational, the factory will create 700 jobs. On Wednesday, August 27, Rheinmetall inaugurated an ammunition plant in northern Germany. It also transpired that the company will build two military factories in Bulgaria.

• Rumen Radev in Germany: Bulgaria is becoming part of the European defence ecosystem

• Bulgaria and Germany's Rheinmetall to jointly build two military plants

Greek pensioners affected by income cuts during the economic crisis to be reimbursed

Greek pensioners who were affected by income cuts during the economic crisis will be reimbursed, reported BNR’s correspondent in Greece Katya Peeva. A decision by the Supreme Court in Athens has ruled that the pension cuts made during the crisis violated the Constitution. According to Greece’s highest judicial authority, pensioners were unfairly affected during a one-year period (2015–2016), and the cuts breached national legislation.

As a result, within three months of the Supreme Court’s ruling, 360,000 pensioners will receive compensation of up to 4,000 euros each, along with 6% interest, as stipulated in the court's decision. The Pensioners’ Union stated that two previous governments had tried to discourage them from filing lawsuits, but despite that, pensioners turned to the courts en masse. Greek pensions were cut more than ten times during the crisis at the request of the country’s creditors. Greek pensioners consider this a significant victory and intend to continue filing lawsuits for other years in which they believe their rights were violated.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: cumhuriyet.com.tr, Facebook/ Timco Mucunski, romania-insider.com, athensvoice.gr