Macedonia naming dispute

Geographical and political division of Macedonia
  Greek Macedonia
  North Macedonia
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The use of the country name "Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Western Balkans for 25 years. It was resolved through negotiations between the two countries, mediated by the United Nations, resulting in the Prespa Agreement, which was signed on 17 June 2018. Pertinent to its background is an early 20th-century multifaceted dispute and armed conflict that formed part of the background to the Balkan Wars. The specific naming dispute, although an existing issue in Yugoslav–Greek relations since World War II, was reignited after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the newly-gained independence of the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1991. Since then, it was an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations until it was settled with the Prespa agreement in June 2018, the subsequent ratification by the Macedonian and Greek parliaments in late 2018 and early 2019 respectively, and the official renaming of Macedonia to North Macedonia in February 2019.

The dispute arose from the ambiguity in nomenclature between the Republic of Macedonia, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia and the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. Citing historical and irredentist concerns, Greece opposed the use of the name "Macedonia" without a geographical qualifier such as "Northern Macedonia" for use "by all ... and for all purposes".[1] As a significant contingent of ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians and view themselves as unrelated to ethnic Macedonians, Greece further objected to the use of the term "Macedonian" for the neighboring country's largest ethnic group and language. North Macedonia was accused by Greece of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great, and of promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which involves territorial claims on Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia.[2]

The dispute escalated to the highest level of international mediation, involving numerous attempts to achieve a resolution. In 1995, the two countries formalised bilateral relations and committed to start negotiations on the naming issue, under the auspices of the United Nations. Until a solution was found, the provisional reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) was used by multiple international organisations and states. UN members, and the UN as a whole, agreed to accept any name resulting from successful negotiations between the two countries. The parties were represented by Ambassadors Vasko Naumovski and Adamantios Vassilakis with the mediation of Matthew Nimetz, who had worked on the issue since 1994.[3]

On 12 June 2018, an agreement was reached.[4] A referendum was held in Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters overwhelmingly affirming support for EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa agreement. However, voter turnout was well below the 50 percent threshold needed to validate the result.[5][6] Therefore, the agreement had to be ratified by the Macedonian Assembly with a two-thirds majority.[7] After the agreement was ratified by both sides, it entered into force on 12 February 2019.[8] On 27 March 2020, North Macedonia became the 30th member of NATO.[9]

  1. ^ Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "FYROM Name Issue". Archived from the original on 13 January 2018.
  2. ^ Μακεδονικό Ονοματολογικό Ζήτημα: Μία ανάλυση με βάση την διεθνή ιστορική εμπειρία (Macedonia Naming Dispute: An Analysis Based on International Historical Experience) (in Greek). Bookstars (Athens). 2019. ISBN 978-960-571-324-9.
  3. ^ "The man who has focused on one word for 23 years". BBC. 1 August 2017.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PrespaAgreement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Macedonia sets Sept. 30 for referendum on name deal with Greece". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-10-19.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Macedonia name referendum fails to reach turnout threshold: election commission". reuters.com. Reuters. 2018-09-30. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Welcome to North Macedonia: parliament votes for name change". The Guardian. 2018-10-20. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  8. ^ Testorides, Konstantin (12 February 2019). "Call me by my new name: Balkan nation is North Macedonia now". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  9. ^ North Macedonia Joins the NATO Alliance. Press Statement. Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of State. March 27, 2020