North Macedonia risks EU future by disregarding Prespa deal, says Mitsotakis
North Macedonia is risking its future in the European Union by disregarding the Prespa Agreement on its constitutional name, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said.
Speaking in Brussels after the conclusion of a meeting of EU heads of government, Mitsotakis said that he “made it absolutely clear that if Skopje insists on this line, it will essentially make extremely difficult – if not actually cancel – any process towards the immediate convergence with the European family.”
“As there was an item on the issues of enlargement, I took the initiative and informed my colleagues in the European Council about what is happening in North Macedonia, about the fact that both the president and the acting prime minister are actually in direct violation of the Prespa Agreement, misrepresenting in practice erga omnes by choosing to use another name, beyond the constitutionally defined name of the country, for internal use, which is completely contrary to the spirit of the Prespa Agreement,” Mitsotakis said.
“I think that everyone should realize the consequences of their actions and know that compliance with the European acquis goes, obviously, means the faithful observance of international agreements that have been signed, in this case, by both parties.”
Earlier this week, North Macedonia’s new prime minister described as “shameful” the inclusion of the designation “North” in the constitutional name of the country but said he was required to “capitulate” to its use as it was now part of the country’s legal system.
On Thursday, the country’s president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, referred to Greece’s region of Macedonia as “Aegean Macedonia.”
The prime minister also said that he expects that Fredi Beleri, who is serving a two-year sentence for vote-buying in Albania but was elected an MEP for his New Democracy party, will be Strasbourg for the opening of the European Parliament.
“I take it for granted .. that Fredi Beleri will be in Strasbourg to officially take up his duties as an MEP and will obviously take part in the extremely crucial vote to choose the next president of the European Commission,” he said.
He added: “I won’t say anything more, but I consider it completely reasonable and self-evident that this will happen.”
