The truth about North Macedonia

Flirting with the opponents of the Prespa Agreement, the Greek government claims to be vindicated by the refusal of the newly elected president in North Macedonia to refer to her country by its constitutional name. Her attitude, the conservatives say, shows that they were right to vote against the Prespa Agreement in 2018. 

In reality, the exact opposite is the case. The behavior demonstrates how important the accord was for Greece, because it commits the neighboring country to use the name “North Macedonia” in the UN, NATO, when dealing with the EU, as well as in all official documents at home and abroad. After all, it was on the basis of this commitment that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier this week warned the government in Skopje that the country’s path to the EU will remain blocked without compliance with the agreement.

Had the SYRIZA government, and the now-defunct Potami party, not backed the Prespa Agreement, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and the nationalist VMRO might now be tempted to launch an international campaign about their country’s name, styling themselves as the descendants of Alexander the Great. Such a campaign might resonate with countries who would not want a name dispute to give Russia an opportunity to strengthen its footing in the Balkans, particularly at volatile times like these. 

The normalization of bilateral ties through the Prespes Agreement – which was perhaps the only positive contribution of the Tsipras administration, together with the “kolotoumba” over the third bailout program – was key for the stability of the Balkans. A weak state numbering just 2 million Slav-Macedonians, Albanians and Serbs became a member of NATO, putting the brakes on the geopolitical ambitions of third parties, including Turkey.

Mitsotakis has been able to dominate the political game in Greece because he is pushing with reforms, while taking initiatives on national issues – like the rapprochement with Turkey – turning his back on professional patriots. North Macedonia should not be an exception. In fact, had Greece ratified the memoranda of understanding linked to the 2018 agreement, patrolling the Skopje FIR would now fall under the competence of the Hellenic Air Force. That would certainly keep Siljanovska’s feet closer to the ground.