Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakogianni has declared that if the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) wishes to join NATO and the EU in the future, it must normalise relations with Greece. Referring to recent anti-Greek billboards around Skopje and the perceived nationalistic rhetoric of FYROM's Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Bakogianni said she was concerned about the state of relations between the two countries.

Vehicles with Greek number plates and Greek businesses in the Former Yugoslav Republic have been targeted in recent weeks and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn has also expressed his concern at recent anti-Greek and nationalistic trends in the FYROM press. Proposed boycotts of Greek products are the first signs that the strong economic ties amassed between FYROM and Greece are finally being affected by the political situation.

Besides these statements about normalising relations from its foreign minister, Greece maintains that in order to join NATO FYROM must reach a compromise on the name issue. Several sources in the Greek press have hinted at "New Macedonia" being an acceptable name for the Former Yugoslav Republic.

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