Slovenia & Greece Clash on Macedonia EU Bid

[Truth Bearer]

Slovenia & Greece Clash on Macedonia EU Bid

17 June 2008 Brussels _ Slovenian and Greek Foreign Ministers clash on whether to start EU accession talks with Macedonia, as Athens demands a resolution to the ‘name’ row first.

The dispute started after the Slovenian side presented to European Union foreign ministers the draft of the summit’s conclusion document which is due to be adopted next Friday in which Macedonia will be sent positive signals on the start of accession talks.

However this was flatly rejected by Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis who insisted that the “name dispute (between Skopje and Athens) should be included in the conclusions as another condition for the start of accession talks.”

This was rebuffed by her Slovenian counterpart, Dimitrij Rupel who said that such discussions were going nowhere and allegedly said he was ‘closing Dora’s box.’

“The European Council is looking forward to the opening of accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by the end of this year,” is one of the lines in the draft conclusions.

“The problem is that Dora was not alone in this stance because the majority of EU members consider that is too early to give Macedonia a date for accession talks as they are considering that the country is not mature enough for this important step,” one source from the meeting told Balkan Insight.

According to this official, the elections in Macedonia which were marred by violence and irregularities, cast a dark shadow over Macedonia’s image in European circles, therefore many member states disagree that country can start accession talks.

Greece has already blocked Macedonia’s bid to join NATO because of the unresolved ‘name’ dispute.
Greece says the name Macedonia implies Skopje's territorial claims on the northern Greek province of the same name and wants Skopje to change the country’s name.

Monday was the first time Athens had publicly mentioned that the ‘name’ row could prove to be a hurdle in Skopje’s bid to join the EU.

Slovenia, which has held the EU’s rotating presidency since the beginning of the year and will do so until the end of the month, has made the Euro-Atlantic integration of the western Balkans a key strategy during its term. Slovenia, like Macedonia, was once part of the former Yugoslavia.

“The only missing peace was Macedonia therefore we wanted to finish our circle in the Balkans and make it as successful as possible,” said one official from the Slovenian presidency.

“Greeks and many others will object the definition that Macedonia should start accession talks by the end of this year, while Athens without any doubt will again ask to include the name issue as a new condition, and this will be objected at least by the Slovenians, so we’re are deadlocked,” said one source from the EU presidency.

“It is most likely that none of the definitions will be put on the paper of the summit’s final conclusions and the language regarding Macedonia will be extremely vague,” the source warned.


http://www.balkaninsight.com:80/en/main/news/11100/

[TALOS]

well i guess this ex-yugo brother is trying a little too hard for FYROM.

understandeable but tiny little Slovenia is just overexcited with its presendency and thinks her mass size got bigger by entering the EU and perhaps thinks can be "influencial" and apply "politics" in the balcans..

Well after her Presendency which ends in a few days, noone will ever hear from this country for a long time

there are always members who disagree with others. However we all know the draft will be shaped to what Greece and the Majority of the EU wants

see ya later Slovenia Neeext please

[New Politics]

Originally Posted by TALOS

well i guess this ex-yugo brother is trying a little too hard for FYROM.

understandeable but tiny little Slovenia is just overexcited with its presendency and thinks her mass size got bigger by entering the EU and perhaps thinks can be "influencial" and apply "politics" in the balcans..

Well after her Presendency which ends in a few days, noone will ever hear from this country for a long time

there are always members who disagree with others. However we all know the draft will be shaped to what Greece and the Majority of the EU wants

see ya later Slovenia Neeext please

FYROM change its name to Southern Slovenia, Then Greece will expedite the NATO and EU membership. Is nice Yes?

[New Politics]

Greece has a veto so why go there?

[TALOS]

Originally Posted by New Politics

Greece has a veto so why go there?

this is about EU compiling a Draft about FYROM. Veto is another thing

[Makedonomaxos2008]

Originally Posted by New Politics

Greece has a veto so why go there?

Originally Posted by TALOS

this is about EU compiling a Draft about FYROM. Veto is another thing

VETO is indeed another thing, but truth be said it won't have to come to that.

Accession talks for the Republic of Skopje to the EU will never start as long as there is no solution to the name/nationality/language issue.

That is not the Greek stance, but the stance of most EU member states.

Slovenia can play politics as much as they like, they won't achieve anything

[Makedonomaxos2008]

Originally Posted by Truth Bearer

“The problem is that Dora was not alone in this stance because the majority of EU members consider that is too early to give The Republic of Skopje a date for accession talks as they are considering that the country is not mature enough for this important step,” one source from the meeting told Balkan Insight.

...

“Greeks and many others will object the definition that Republic of Skopje should start accession talks by the end of this year, while Athens without any doubt will again ask to include the name issue as a new condition, and this will be objected at least by the Slovenians, so we’re are deadlocked,” said one source from the EU presidency.

http://www.balkaninsight.com:80/en/main/news/11100/

Just a few comments from the article that justify my above points

[Grace]

I think EU is afraid of instability. The more it lingers, the worst it is. Eventually FYROM might have to choose between a name or having a country at all. The population does get restless, especially the Albanian one that got included there "accidentially" and does not care about Alexander the Great name.

S7300977 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

People need jobs, equal rights and hope that things are on the right path.


For the same reason, they made the deal with Serbs for the visas (hoping to lead them towards a pro EU govt)

[Bardas]

Originally Posted by Grace

I think EU is afraid of instability. The more it lingers, the worst it is. Eventually FYROM might have to choose between a name or having a country at all. The population does get restless, especially the Albanian one that got included there "accidentially" and does not care about Alexander the Great name.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blerton/1491038882/

People need jobs, equal rights and hope that things are on the right path.


For the same reason, they made the deal with Serbs for the visas (hoping to lead them towards a pro EU govt)

Fyrom already has stability or at least its own version of it, which is basically the best they can do for now. As long as Skopje doesn’t try to renege on the Ohrid Agreement and include one of their parties in the ruling coalition, then the Albanians will be reminded that they don’t really have a reason to raise arms again. Besides, the skops seem to be content that the Albanian regions are more or less out of their control and as long as the Albanians don’t try to secede then they think they don’t have to worry about them.

As for Slovenia, let them harp on. They had six months to push for Fyrom membership but left it till the last minute. Wonder why?

As for Greece blocking Fyrom’s candidacy, don’t forget the lone Greek veto had kept Turkey from being a candidate for almost twenty years. And we actually copped a lot of flack for it back then by some members, even though there were many more in the EU who were happy about the veto but preferred to just sit back quietly. And when we finally lifted the veto lo and behold those EU members immediately gasped at the realization that Turkey might get in after all. Now it’s our turn to sit back quietly.

And if the French and Austrians can now threaten to veto Turkish membership, and the Turks themselves can still strive for membership though refusing to recognize the Republic of Cyprus, then there will be absolutely no diplomatic repercussions for Greece in re to Fyrom. Just like at the Nato summit, Greece won’t have to exercise its veto in the EU. A show of unity is too important.

Besides, EU membership or recognizing Fyrom as RoM will not solve its problems. Apart from the final status of the Albanians, there’s also the widespread corruption in Fyrom and its recent dubious election process to name a few. The EU does not want a problem child; they are not stupid.

[TALOS]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews...13126020080620

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union told FYROM on Friday it must resolve a row with EU member Greece over its name to get a date to start membership talks, but did not rule out new steps this year towards entry.

"Maintaining good neighbourly relations, including a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the name issue, remains essential," said a draft final statement from a meeting of EU leaders.

The draft, obtained by Reuters, said further steps "are possible by the end of this year" if all conditions are met.

FYROM , which split from Yugoslavia in 1991, has the same name as Greece's most northerly province. Athens says Skopje must use a compound name such as "New" or "Upper" Macedonia and already blocked FYROM 's bid at a NATO summit in April to be invited to join the defence alliance.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said late on Thursday resolving the name dispute was also key to advancing ties with the EU.

"What I can say for certain is that FYROM will be given a date to resume negotiations as soon as all conditions are fulfilled," he said after the first day of talks.

"There are some conditions that need to be met which are not completely in the remit of the EU institutions," he said, citing "the issue of the name."

Gunfights and fraud during FYROM 's June 1 elections did not help Skopje's case. In the summit draft, the EU called on FYROM to ensure that elections due next year would be free and fair, and to crack down on corruption and organised crime.

(Reporting by Mark John and Ingrid Melander; editing by Philippa Fletcher)



checkmate See ya later scopies