North Macedonia's new president clears legislation backlog

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - North Macedonia's new president has cleared a backlog of legislation adopted by parliament that his predecessor had refused to sign into law because of a dispute with the center-left government.

The office of Stevo Pendarovski, whose candidacy was backed by the governing Social Democrats, said Tuesday that he signed 21 decrees on laws including reforms to the security services and investment.

Pendarovski was elected earlier this month.

His conservative predecessor, Gjorge Ivanov, had refused to sign off on new legislation for months, objecting to the deal with neighboring Greece that saw the country previously known as Macedonia renamed North Macedonia.

Pendarovski is a strong supporter of the name deal finalized in February that ended a decades-long dispute over the country's name, in exchange for Greece backing its NATO membership.