Blic, Serbia: Greece to Block Macedonia’s EU, NATO Membership over Name Dispute

Athens. “Greece will block Macedonia’s EU and NATO membership, unless Skopje makes a compromise on the country’s name”, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said, the Serbian newspaper Blic reported. A mutually accepted solution is the condition for the ratification of Macedonia’s NATO and EU membership by the Greek Parliament. Since 1991 Greece has disputed Macedonia’s right to use its name because it thinks it belongs only to the Greek national and historic heritage. Besides, Greece is afraid of Macedonia’s possible claims to the Greek border district bearing the same name. In 1993 the UN recognized Macedonia as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Continuous talks between Greece and Macedonia held under the auspices of the UN have been unsuccessful by now, the newspaper comments.