For years there was a dispute with Greece over the name Macedonia. In order for the country to become an EU candidate, it adopted a new name in 2019 – North Macedonia. But now the new president is starting the dispute again.
The new President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, reignited the old name dispute with Greece as soon as she was inaugurated. Instead of “North Macedonia”, as the country has been called since an agreement with Greece, she used the old country name “Macedonia” in her oath of office.
The Greek ambassador Sophia Philippidou then left the hall in protest. The Foreign Ministry in Athens later said that the new head of state’s behavior was endangering bilateral relations and North Macedonia’s path to the EU. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the country to stick to agreements made if it wants to stay on its path to EU membership.
Nationalist Election winners want to use old names
Last Wednesday, Siljanovska-Davkova clearly won the runoff election against the Social Democratic incumbent Stevo Pendarovski as the candidate of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE. In the parliamentary elections on the same day, the VMRO had become the strongest force. Its leader Hristijan Mickoski is expected to form the next government.
Both Siljanovska-Davkova as well as Mickoski and other VMRO politicians announced during the election campaign that they no longer wanted to use the official country name, but rather the historical name Macedonia.
Years of strife
North Macedonia has been a candidate for EU membership since 2005. Admission was prevented for years by neighboring Greece due to a dispute over the country’s name. The Social Democrats, who have been in power since 2017 and have now been voted out, agreed with Greece on the name change, which was implemented in February 2019.
Athens had insisted on it because a region in northern Greece had the same name. The name change was a prerequisite for the small Balkan country to become a member of NATO in 2020. This also paved the way for accession talks with the EU.