Skopje, 10 Nov. (AKI) - The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRM), as the tiny Balkan country is officially called, is now a step closer today towards joining the European Union, but despite jubilations in Skopje, the state's name - contested by Greece - remains a key obstacle on the road to Brussels. The European Commission recommended on Wednesday to the Council of ministers to grant Macedonia candidate status, but EU minister for enlargement Olli Rehn made clear that no deadlines were set.
âItâs difficult to predict when (membership) talks will begin, but in any case there is no promised deadlineâ, said Rehn.
Macedonia concluded the agreement on Stabilisation and Association with EU in May 2004 and officially submitted an application for membership, but a dispute with Greece over the state name has blocked further progress. After breaking away from former Yugoslavia in 1992, Macedonia was recognised and accepted into international organizations as FYRM, because Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia. Athens claims the name hides pretensions to the territory in northern Greece which bears the same name, and Skopje authorities have done nothing to deter these accusations.
In fact, Macedonians often identify themselves with Alexander the Great, claiming him for themselves, though Macedonians, who are Slavs, hadnât even arrived in the Balkans in his time. The United Nations has mediated between Athens and Skopje for the past thirteen years to find a mutually acceptable solution, but no progress has been achieved.
This prompted Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to say last month that Skopje âcan move towards EU membership only if mutually acceptable solution is found, or under the name of FYRM. There is no other wayâ, Karamanlis said firmly. As a member of both EU and NATO, Greece has repeatedly pledged to block Macedoniaâs entrance into these organizations, unless a compromise was found.
This issue was not mentioned by Rehn, and Macedonian officials made no direct reference to the problem, so as not to spoil the good tidings from Brussels. âMacedonia has succeededâ, exclaimed Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski. âItâs now clear that we have European perspectiveâ, he added.
Even Javier Solana, EU official in charge of security and foreign policy, has warned that âMacedonia still has a long road ahead to EU membership. That road can be passed successfully only by joint efforts of all forcesâ, he said. Solana mediated in quelling an ethnic Albanian rebellion in Macedonia in 2001, which resulted in greater rights for the Albanians, who make 25 per cent of the countryâs two million population. To award Skopje leaders for their cooperativeness, the United States has recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name, despite protests from Athens. There were no signs from Brussels at the moment that EU was ready to follow suit. | I just know I'll hate myself for posting this, and us old timers know why |
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