Macedonia under pressure to accept compromise name

Macedonia’s leaders clashed this week over their country’s name dispute with Greece, ahead of the expected presentation of a UN compromise proposal that Western diplomats say Skopje must accept if it is to stay on course to join the EU and NATO.

An unprecedented verbal exchange set the country’s President Branko Crvenkovski against Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Returning from the US on 29 September, Crvenkovski accused Gruevski of obstructing talks with Greece. Crvenkovki emphasised the “absurdity” of the name dispute and hinted that Macedonia should be ready to accept a compromise. 

“I am calling on the prime minister to be more responsible in these important times for Macedonia and to be up to meeting these challenges: in other words, to be a real prime minister,” Crvenkovski told reporters. 

Gruevski hit back, accusing Crvenkovski of defeatism and blaming him for the acceptance of the compromise name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, used in the UN and other fora, back in 1993. 

Since his re-election after the early poll he triggered on 1 June, Gruevski and his government have been digging their heels in over the name dispute (EURACTIV 08/09/08). Gruevski also angered Greece with demands for better protection and promotion of the rights of the Macedonian minority in Greece (EURACTIV 17/07/08). Athens warned that such claims would only harm Skopje’s interests. 

Western diplomats are now urging Macedonia to accept the compromise, which is expected to be presented in the next few days by UN mediator Mathew Niemetz, a US diplomat. The current US administration has invested much effort into finding a compromise, which would open the door for Macedonia’s NATO accession. At the NATO summit in April, Macedonia was denied a Membership Action Plan (MAP) after a Greek veto (EURACTIV 02/04/08). Diplomats believe it is less certain that the next administration will pay as much attention to the issue, no matter who is the next US president. 

Greek media speculated that employing the name ‘Northern Macedonia’ for international use would be the centrepiece of the Niemetz proposal. Leaked information also suggests that the nationality of Macedonian citizens would be ‘Makedonski’ instead of ‘Macedonian’ to accommodate Greece, the northern part of which is also called Macedonia. 

Read more with Euractiv

Serbia receives UN backing on Kosovo in trial vote

Serbia recorded a diplomatic victory at the annual session of the UN General Assembly as a trial vote revealed a clear majority in favour of referring the question of Kosovo's independence to the International Court of Justice. Kosovo fears that such a procecure could hold up the issue for years.