Macedonian dispute
European Parliament finally takes clear position on dispute over country's name
The European Parliament today adopted a report outlining its position on the stalled EU accession progress of the FYRO Macedonia. The Greens welcomed the adoption of the report and, in particular, a Green amendment seeking to clarify the long-running dispute over the country's name. Commenting after the vote, Green foreign policy and enlargement spokesperson Marije Cornelissen said:
"For over a decade, the dispute over what to call the country north of Greece, west of Serbia and east of Albania has dragged on. It has long been clear that a 'composite name with a geographical qualifier' for the country as a noun, be it North-Macedonia, Upper-Macedonia or something else, while using 'Macedonian' as an adjective for the nationality, identity, culture and language is the only viable solution to the dispute. The EP has today finally stopped beating around the bush and acknowledged this for the first time.
"The deadlock over the name dispute, which has persisted in spite of UN mediation, has enabled Greece to block Macedonian accession to the EU and other organisations of which it is a member, like NATO. This means that, in spite of Macedonia receiving a positive recommendation for opening of accession negotiations from the European Commission and European Parliament for years, its accession process is stalled, with Council objecting. With reforms in the country regressing and the population losing faith, it is clear that a solution is badly needed. We hope this breakthrough in the European Parliament will give new impetus to resolving the dispute and the EU accession process."
