North Macedonia’s president-elect sparks row with Greece during swearing-in – POLITICO

In a statement, the Greek Foreign Ministry said the new president’s remarks violated the terms of the 2018 international Prespa agreement between Athens and Skopje and endangered bilateral relations and membership prospects. North Macedonia to the European Union.

As part of the historic Prespa Agreement, the country’s name and constitution were changed, allowing North Macedonia to join NATO in 2020 and begin its EU accession process.

“For North Macedonia to continue on its path towards EU membership, it is paramount that the country continues on the path of reforms and fully complies with its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. job on X.

Greece has blocked North Macedonia’s membership in the EU and NATO for decades, alleging that by calling itself “Macedonia”, its Balkan neighbor was appropriating a Greek name and history. from the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia.

For the past two years, Bulgaria has also blocked North Macedonia’s EU candidacy, demanding that its constitution be amended again to recognize the country’s Bulgarian minority.

The Prespa Agreement was signed by the government of the time, led by the socialist party SDSM. On the other hand, the nationalist VMRO party, to which Siljanovska-Davkova belongs, has always opposed this agreement. During his campaign for last week’s parliamentary elections, VMRO leader Hristijan Mickoski accused the SDSM of making humiliating compromises to settle differences with its domestic neighbors and continued to call the country “Macedonia.” despite the Prespa agreement.