Greece, Macedonia PMs to Discuss "Name" Issue

There is hope that the meeting will help bring much needed progress on the issue, which has stalled Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration process.

The name issue and Greece's blockade of Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration were the main topics of discussion at yesterday's meetings between PM Gruevski and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, MEP and Rapporteur for Macedonia Zoran Thaler, and Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele.

Brussels demanded strong leadership from Gruevski when addressing this difficult issue.

"I have encouraged PM Nikola Gruevski to work on finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name row," Buzek said after the meeting.

For his part Gruevski repeated that his country is putting forth its utmost effort in resolving its differences with Greece.

Skopje and Athens are locked in a long standing row over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens objects to Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, claiming that it implies territorial aspirations on Greece's own northern province, also called Macedonia.

In 2008 Greece blocked Skopje from entering NATO because of the dispute, and Macedonia did not obtain a start date for accession talks with the EU in December last year over the same row.

The meeting of two prime ministers will take place under the watchful eye of the US administration as well. Yesterday the US ambassador to Macedonia, Philip Reeker, said that the meeting represented an excellent opportunity to move the negotiating process forward.

"At this critical moment, it is of enormous significance for Macedonia's economic growth and progress, as well as for the region in general," Reeker said.

This will be the third direct meeting of the two prime ministers, following parleys in Brussels in October and Prespes, Greece in November, neither of which resulted in significant progress regarding the name issue.

The UN mediator in the bilateral talks, Matthew Nimetz, is expected to announce his next move in the neogtiation process before long.