Tag: greece

A delegation from Greece, led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, arrives for an official visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday, 2 April, reports the government. "In the framework of the visit, the delegation from Greece will be welcomed at the airport in Skopje, followed by a formal reception with high state honours on the plateau of the Government of the...

Andreas Petrides, President of the Union of Macedonians, is another number of Greeks who fell into a dispute with the British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC), after their report on ethnic Macedonians in Greece, but failed to deliver any real arguments, repeating the classical Greek empty phrases. Earlier, the Greek ambassador in London also joined in with severe criticism of the...

While Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece are actively working to build high-speed railways, Macedonia is fast asleep. In a several years, our country could encounter serious problems with the low speeds of the trains, taking into account the pace of development of the railway infrastructures in neighbouring countries. This year, Greece plans to complete the production of the high speed track...

In an interview with European Western Balkans, Slovenian MEP praised the Governments courage in resolving the decades-long dispute with Greece over the name of the country but recalls that the road to the EU for Northern Macedonia involves many reforms. He said he was concerned with slow reforms in the judiciary, as well as the state of media freedom...

EU's High Representative/Vice President for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn today confirmed the arrival of the notification by the Republic of North Macedonia about its new name and congratulated Skopje and Athens on the acchievement. "Today, the European Union has formally been notified by the Republic of North Macedonia of its new name,...

Without solving of all bilateral disputes, there will be no further enlargement in the region of Western Balkans, said Jelko Kacin in a statement for "European Western Balkans", who is the Permanent Representative of Slovenia to NATO and former Rapporteur for Serbia and Montenegro in the European Parliament. The decision of the Republic of North Macedonia to change its name...

The identification documents that contain the new name Republic of North Macedonia i.e., passports, id cards, driver's licenses will be acquired when the government announces in the Official Gazette the date when the constitutional amendments and the constitutional law enter into force. The protocol from Athens is expected to be sent today. When asked when can the citizens acquire...

In a joint statement, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn welcomed the ratification of the Prespa Agreement in Greek Parliament. "We warmly welcome the next crucial step in the ratification of the Prespa agreement, taken with today's vote by the Hellenic Parliament. From the very beginning, the...

Today, a few opponents to the Prespa Agreement in Thessaloniki, in front of the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, handed out "obituaries" to passers-by with the name "Macedonia" written on it, protesting and calling it a "betrayal on Greek Macedonia". "Today we bury Macedonia" says the text, and is signed by "Mother Greece, Macedonian children and Macedonians". At 2:30 pm today, Greek parliament is scheduled to vote...

The Greek Parliament this afternoon ratified the Prespa Agreement which was signed by Macedonia and Greece, with 153 MPs’ voting to end the name dispute which has lasted nearly three decades. All 300 MPs were asked the question of whether they are "for", or "against", or would “abstain" concerning the ratification of the Prespa Agreement. Of all the MPs, 153 were...

For the draft law on the ratification of the Prespa Agreement to come into force, it will be discussed today by the Commission for National Defense and Foreign Affairs in Greek Parliament. On Saturday, the draft law was submitted to Greek Parliament, and is expected to be passed by Friday. Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis is expected to hold a meeting with the...

Amendments from 33 to 36, together with Constitutional Law on their proclamation, which were voted in with 81 votes, were adopted at the 75th session of Parliament, on Friday, and were published in the 6th issue of the "Official Gazette" this year, i.e. on January 12, 2019. With these amendments to the Constitution, after the Prespa Agreement comes into force,...

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department for Informing and Press Relations has called the passing of the new amendments of the Macedonian Constitution in order to change the country's name as "an artificial change of the country's name in order for an enforced entering of Skopje into NATO" and stated that the problem with the country's renaming should...

With 81 votes in favor and no votes against or withheld, this evening, MPs have cast their votes at Parliament i.e. the amendments from 33 to 35, which are Macedonia's obligation according to the Prespa Agreement that was signed on the 17th of June last year. Previously, the Alliance of the Albanians and BESA's MPs withdrew their amendments. According to Constitutional...

NATO urges the parliaments of Macedonia and Greece to fulfill all their obligations regarding the Prespa Agreement that resolves the name dispute. That was the main stipulation of the letter that the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly sent to both Skopje and Athens, noting that the Alliance expects as fast as possible process. "NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reportedly sent a...

On 17.06.2018, in the village of Nivici (Psarades) on the Greek coast of Prespa Lake, the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece, Nikola Dimitrov and Nikolaos Kotzias, have signed the “FINAL AGREEMENT FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE DIFFERENCES AS DESCRIBED IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS 817 (1993) AND 845 (1993), THE TERMINATION OF THE INTERIM ACCORD OF 1995, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT...

Russia doesn't oppose the Prespa Agreement regarding the name but it opposes Macedonia's membership into NATO, said Russian Ambassador to Greece, Andrej Maslov during a briefing in Athens regarding the visit of the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras in Moscow. - If Athens and Skopje reach an agreement about the name and if that is officially accepted by the Republic of Macedonia's...

The Prespa Agreement is a very important step for the region's stability and relations between Macedonia and Greece, said UN special envoy, Matthew Nimetz, after a meeting with acting foreign minister, George Katrougalos. -Obviously, the political process in both countries is making progress, and me as the UN envoy remain ready to help. If both sides need my help, the UN...

There is a rough systematic interference by the US and the EU in the internal affairs of Macedonia. On a daily basis, its citizens were asked to vote in favor of the Prespa Agreement in the referendum on 30 September this year. The referendum, as it is known, failed. In this situation in the House on 19 October, with...

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer said in Sarajevo yesterday that Macedonia could join NATO by mid-2020 if it implemented the Prespa Agreement and therefore resolved the decades-long dispute with Greece. According to him, Macedonia could become the 30th NATO member "as early as 18 months". "It's a realistic goal," Palmer said. The same message...