Greece on Monday warned North Macedonia that it would block its hopes of joining the EU after the new government in Skopje continues to break the historic Prespa deal on the country’s name.
Athens was responding a day after North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski repeatedly used the old name, Macedonia, saying he found his country’s new name, under the agreement, “shameful.”
The 2018 Prespa deal with Greece, was signed by the center-left government that Mickoski defeated in May 8 elections. It ended a decades-long quarrel over history and cultural heritage and stipulated that the country would formally adopt the new name North Macedonia.
The agreement allowed North Macedonia to later join NATO. Speaking in parliament Sunday ahead of a vote to approve his new government, Mickoski repeatedly used the old name, Macedonia. But shortly later in his official oath of office, he used the full formal name of the country.
“(I) will have to capitulate before you and say that shameful adjective, because it is, unfortunately, part of the law and the constitution that I have to respect as the head of government,” Mickoski told lawmakers.
Greece threatens to block North Macedonia’s EU accession
On Monday, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said “Compliance with international law and international agreements constitutes the foundation of international peace and security, and its selective application is unacceptable.
“The path towards European accession is not possible without the full implementation of the European acquis and with full and unconditional compliance to international law and international agreements.”
North Macedonia’s EU accession would be “unimaginable and unacceptable” without its “full and unconditional” respect of international law, including the name agreement with Greece.
The decision by the new state and political leadership of North Macedonia “not to use in domestic public statements the country’s constitutional name” systematically and persistently is a “flagrant violation of the Prespa Agreement, which foresees the uniform use of the name ‘North Macedonia’ both domestically and abroad,” Gerapetritis said in Luxembourg.
North Macedonia’s new president, also elected in May and backed by Mickoski’s VMRO-DPMNE party, riled Greek and EU officials last month by calling her country Macedonia in her oath of office. President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova later insisted that she had a “human right” to refer to the country as she liked.
Her reference was condemned by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “The provocative decision of the new president of North Macedonia to violate the official text of her oath and refer to her country by a different name constitutes an illegal and unacceptable initiative,” the Greek Prime Minister wrote on X.
“It breaches the Prespa Agreement and the constitution of her state. It also undermines its future prospects.”
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen also issued a statement on social media in response to the unfolding controversy.
“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,” she said on X.
The naming issue remains a tension between the two countries, often making it difficult for Greek and North Macedonian diplomats to constructively and cooperatively advance bilateral relations.
Related: Greece Concerned Over Nationalists’ Win in North Macedonia Elections