(Bloomberg) -- Republic of Macedonia's pro-European Union cabinet survived its first no-confidence vote in parliament, brushing off opposition accusations of corruption and lack of competence during its first 10 months in power.
Lawmakers voted 62 to 40 with 2 abstentions to reject the motion, supporting Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's cabinet, Makfax newswire in Skopje reported, citing Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi.
The motion was submitted by the main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE that held power from 2006 through last year, a period during which the country's efforts to progress in its key foreign policy goals -- joining NATO and the European Union -- were stalled.
Zaev has been trying to bring the former Yugoslav state of 2 million closer to the 28-nation bloc and the military alliance by actively seeking to resolve a name dispute with Greece, which has blocked the nation's efforts to join them.
To contact the reporter on this story: Slav Okov in Sofia at sokov@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Konstantinova, Andrea Dudik
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