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Skopje – The quarrel between Athens and Skopje for the state name of Macedonia lasts almost 30 years. Now the Macedonian Parliament is paving the way for a constitutional amendment that would allow the small Balkan country to break out of isolation.
The Macedonian parliament paved the way for a new state name. With a two-thirds majority, the parliament decided Friday night in Skopje to make the appropriate constitutional amendments. The Balkan state should now be called North Macedonia. Neighboring Greece exists because of its eponymous province in the north of the country for almost three decades on the name change. As a means of pressure, Athens had blocked any rapprochement of Macedonia with NATO and the EU.
Positive vote support
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the decision of the People's Assembly in Skopje on Saturday evening and congratulated his Macedonian colleague Zoran Zaev. "Congratulations my friend Zoran!" Wrote Tsipras in the SMS messaging service. "This is an important step towards a peaceful and prosperous future for our peoples," he added.
The President of the EU Council, Donald Tusk, congratulated Skopje for this decision. "A voice, a big step towards the place you deserve in our transatlantic community," tweeted Tusk in Macedonian Saturday night.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner Johannes Hahn also welcomed the vote in Skopje as a "very important step" in implementing the Greek agreement. -macédonien. Early work on constitutional changes is expected, according to a joint statement on Saturday night in Brussels. The solution to what was arguably the oldest conflict in the region needed "political courage". "It's really a unique opportunity to move the country forward in its European journey and towards regional reconciliation."
The Macedonian Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, has made it possible, thanks to the parliamentary resolution, to quickly integrate his country into NATO and to pave the way for the European Union. This was preceded by a weeklong fight to train opposition members in the government. The opposition rejects the name change because it sacrifices the country's national identity. Zaev's camp had only 71 votes in parliament recently. Necessary were 80 votes, which were reached now.
First step mastered, to follow
Zekir Ramcilovic, a member of the nationalist opposition, told the newspaper "Vecer" his positive statement with regard to the constitutional amendment. Every step backwards would have had a negative impact on Macedonia and its people, he said. Therefore, he and several other VMRO-DPMNE members would have made this "serious but responsible decision".
In a first reaction, Hristijan Mickoski, leader of the nationalist party, spoke of a "black Friday". At the same time, he announced the expulsion of all MPs who had voted in favor of the constitutional amendment.
The constitutional amendments under the new name of the state must be approved at the end of the process initiated in the coming weeks by the vote of at least 80 of the 120 deputies. After that, Greece must accept the agreement reached between the two countries in parliament. Also in Athens, there are problems to find a majority.
Only a few days ago, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias resigned in the intra-Greek dispute over the name dispute with Macedonia. "I accepted his resignation with a heartbreak," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Public Television (ERT) on Wednesday. The case was preceded by a dispute between his chief diplomat and right-wing populist Minister of Defense Panos Kammenos. This categorically rejects Macedonia's agreed name change and wants to prevent the neighboring state from being called Macedonia in any way. (APA / dpa)
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