Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis was adamant on Saturday that North Macedonia should use its constitutional name everywhere, whether within the country or abroad.
The remarks were made during an interview with public broadcaster ERT following the diplomatic tension between Athens and Skopje that broke out earlier this week as the newly-elected president and prime minister in North Macedonia refrained from verbally using the country’s constitutional name, which includes the affixed geographical designation of “North,” and referred to it as “Macedonia” instead.
The Greek government objected that any exclusion of the word “North” is in violation of the 2018 Prespa Agreement – an accord that aspired to resolve the long-standing name dispute between the two countries for the use of the name Macedonia.
“At the core of the Prespa Agreement was the concept of a single name, what we call erga omnes, that the name North Macedonia should apply to all, i.e. be used both abroad and inside the country,” Mitsotakis stated.
The Greek Premier added that his government will wait for the official positions of the government of North Macedonia, “but the first evidence is extremely negative.”
“I want once again to send a warning to the new government to change its line from now on, to respect this central provision of the Prespa Agreement, to only use the name North Macedonia in and outside the country, when references are made to our northern neighbor. Otherwise, it is certain that they will cause problems not only in Greece’s relations with North Macedonia, but in Europe’s relations with North Macedonia,” he stressed.
Greece Could Block North Macedonia’s EU Membership if Prespa Agreement Violated
PM Mitsotakis on Friday also voiced a clear warning that North Macedonia’s admission to the EU would be blocked by Athens if the country’s officials continue to violate the Prespa Agreement.
EU officials had reacted to North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova’s referring to her country as “Macedonia” instead of its official title of “North Macedonia” at her oath ceremony.
“For North Macedonia to continue its successful path on EU accession it is paramount that the country continues on the path of reforms and full respect for its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement,” commented Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the EU Commission.
In a similar tone, Council President Charles Michel called the omission by the new President of North Macedonia to use the country’s constitutional name “very disappointing.”
“The EU recalls the importance of continued implementation of legally binding agreements, including Prespa agreement with Greece,” he wrote on Twitter/X.
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