Greece is concerned about North Macedonia’s adherence to the Prespa Agreement after the nationalist party won the presidential and parliamentary elections.
In the pre-election campaign the two winners of the VMRO-DPMNE party, President-elect Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and party leader Hristijan Mickoski repeatedly stated that the name of their country is Macedonia and not North Macedonia.
After the Prespa Agreement that went into effect on February 12, 2019, the constitutional name of the country changed to Republic of North Macedonia instead of Republic of Macedonia, or the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
Before the election, Siljanovska had often stated that if she was elected, she was not going to swear to the Constitution of North Macedonia, but she would always be the president of Macedonia.
The 70-year-old Silianovska is elected to the highest state office. She is the first woman to assume the presidency of the Republic in the country’s history.
Prime Minister-elect Hristijan Mickoski, on the other hand, without ever saying openly that he would challenge the Prespa Agreement, declared that this agreement does not represent him and that he will never use the term North Macedonia himself.
While some analysts say that this is pre-election talk to please nationalist voters, diplomats and political analysts are standing by waiting to see how the new government will act. In his first statements, however, the new prime minister spoke of “Macedonia”.
The VMRO-DPMNE party needs only two seats in parliament to form a coalition government. Analysts wonder who those allies will be and what the stance of the new government will be, especially towards its neighbors Greece and Bulgaria.
Greek concerns over new North Macedonian government
The Greek government is waiting for the new North Macedonian administration to form to see if the Prespa Agreement will be respected.
Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetrititis has stated that it is very difficult for North Macedonia to disrespect the Prespa Agreement, as it is an international agreement that can bring about serious sanctions if it is violated. At the same time, this would also cause problems in the country’s European Union accession process.
A Greek Foreign Affairs official said that “(North Macedonia) has an obligation to strictly observe the Prespa Agreement, which is an international agreement and entails commitments for the neighboring country and is a prerequisite for its European Union accession path.”
Political developments are expected to be rapid in North Macedonia, as on Sunday, at 12 noon, the new Parliament will convene before the new President of the Republic, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, who will call the winner of the parliamentary elections a week from now to assign the exploratory mandate to form a government.
Given that in North Macedonia the constitution does not provide for increased powers for the president, under normal circumstances Sunday’s swearing-in would be a formal procedure. What is interesting, however, is if she will swear to the North Macedonia Constitution written after the Prespa Agreement which she has repeatedly refused to recognize in her statements and pre-election speeches.
According to Siljanovska-Davkova, the Prespa Agreement is still “legally and politically open” and was “adopted in violation of national law” and was a “serious violation of the collective and individual human rights of the citizens of Macedonia.”
Athens, on the other hand, is determined not to tolerate a non-implementation of the erga omnes agreement in the interior of North Macedonia and will possibly veto European integration procedures for its northern neighbor state.
On Saturday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appeared on Alpha TV and among other news discussed, he expressed his concern over the new North Macedonia administration:
“I am watching with concern the statements of VMRO officials. I will wait with interest for the official position of the commissioned prime minister, to see how he will refer to the name of his country,” Mitsotakis said.
“I personally disagreed with the Prespa agreement and especially with the aggressive definition of the “Macedonian nation and language.” But I accepted the agreement in the context of the continuity of the state. I recognized that I have to respect it”, the prime minister continued and added:
“We continue to have the same demands now from the new leadership of North Macedonia. I hope that what was heard before the election will not be the official position of the new government. Because if this happens there will be issues.”
Likewise, Bulgaria is in a rift with North Macedonia over not adding the Bulgarian minority to its constitution and language issues and has blocked Skopje’s EU accession talks for the past two years. Sofia is also waiting to see the stance of the new North Macedonia administration.
Bulgaria’s Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Dimitar Glavchev, in response to the recent election outcomes in the Republic of North Macedonia, asserted that Bulgaria reached its limit for concessions and urged patience until the composition of the new government in Skopje is clarified.
The Prespa Agreement
The Prespa Agreement signed on June 12, 2018, between then prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his FYROM counterpart Zoran Zaev under the auspices of the United Nations was a cause of controversy in both countries.
Polls showed that the overwhelming majority of Greek people opposed the use of the name “Macedonia” in any form by the Balkan country because this is the name of the historical northern region of Greece, home of the most famous Greek, Alexander the Great. Greeks objected strenuously to the treaty by holding the largest protest demonstrations ever seen in Athens and Thessaloniki prior to the ratification of the agreement in the Greek Parliament in February 2019. Protests against the name change were also held in foreign cities across the globe where diaspora Greeks live.
Tsipras and then foreign minister Nikos Kotzias took it upon themselves to forge a deal with Skopje, completely disregarding objections by all opposition parties, not consulting with party leaders, and not going to a referendum for such a crucial national matter as any democratic head of state would be expected. Instead, his foreign minister negotiated for months with his Skopje counterpart without the consent of party leaders and the Greek people who simply desired to protect the Hellenistic heritage of the Macedonia region.
What Tsipras and his cabinet were accused of also was recognizing the so-called “Macedonian language,” of the Balkan state which is a Slavic language, for the most part a Bulgarian dialect. The language issue is also one of the two reasons Bulgaria has vetoed procedures for North Macedonia’s accession to the EU.
Another thorny issue created by the Prespa Agreement was that Zaev called the “Macedonian nationality,” giving the Balkan country the right to claim the existence of a “Macedonian minority” in Greece’s Macedonia region.
On the other side of the border, after the agreement, North Macedonians continued to call themselves Macedonians and clandestinely appropriate elements of ancient Macedonian civilization such as the legacy of Alexander the Great.
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