North Macedonia’s newly elected nationalist president hadn’t even been sworn in on Sunday before triggering a diplomatic spat with neighboring Greece.
During the swearing-in ceremony in the country’s parliament, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, who is the young nation’s first female president, referred to her country as “Macedonia” rather than by its constitutional name, “North Macedonia.”
Greece’s ambassador to Skopje, Sophia Philippidou, immediately left the inauguration ceremony in protest.
In a statement, Greece’s Foreign Ministry said the new president’s words had violated the terms of the 2018 international Prespa Agreement between Athens and Skopje, and had endangered both bilateral relations and North Macedonia’s prospects of joining the European Union.
Under the historic Prespa deal, the country’s name and constitution were changed, allowing North Macedonia to join NATO in 2020 and start its EU accession process.
“For North Macedonia to continue its successful path on EU accession, it is paramount that the country continues on the path of reforms and full respect for its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X.
Greece has blocked North Macedonia’s EU and NATO accession for decades, alleging that by calling itself “Macedonia,” its Balkan neighbor was appropriating a Greek name as well as the history of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia.
For the past two years, Bulgaria has also blocked North Macedonia’s EU bid, demanding its constitution be amended once again to acknowledge the country’s Bulgarian minority.
The Prespa Agreement was signed by the government at the time, led by the socialist SDSM party. By contrast the nationalist VMRO, to which Siljanovska-Davkova belongs, has always bucked the deal. During his campaign for last week’s parliamentary election, VMRO leader Hristijan Mickoski accused the SDSM of having made humiliating compromises to settle disputes with national neighbors, and continued to call the country “Macedonia” despite the Prespa accord.
“For me, Macedonia is and will remain Macedonia,” Mickoski repeated.
VMRO now returns to power after seven years, having secured big wins in parliamentary and presidential elections last week. Its results are expected to further complicate relations with both Greece and Bulgaria, not to mention the country’s EU accession path. Although VMRO supports EU membership, it says it will not agree to the constitutional changes demanded by Bulgaria, a pre-condition for the country’s accession to the bloc.
In Greece, the left-wing Syriza opposition party condemned Siljanovska-Davkova’s use of the term Macedonia and called on the country’s government “to abandon this passive stance” and to mobilize “all available diplomatic means at international and European level” to address “with severity … any use of terms or actions by the new president and members of the new government of North Macedonia that violate the Prespa Agreement.”
North Macedonia president-elect sparks row with Greece at swearing-in
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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