In the north of the Hellenic Republic there is a region called Macedonia. No Greek in his right mind and sound memory would call any other land Macedonia except this one – the Greek one. Likewise, a resident of the Balkans from Skopje to Tetovo will defend his Macedonian origin, and if necessary, by means far from diplomatic.
The Greek authorities officially promised that they would block any initiative for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to join the EU if it did not renounce its name. Athenian radio traditionally calls it the 'Republic of Skopje', Bulgarian media – 'part of the Bulgarian Kingdom', and finally, independent analysts – 'the small long-suffering land of the SFRY'. Each of these characteristics fits Skopje: Yugoslav Macedonia can rightfully be considered both a former part of the Bulgarian Kingdom, a republic with a capital of the same name, and one of the youngest countries on the political map of the world.
The Macedonian language, for example, was finally approved in the register of the International Philological Society in 1944. At that time, both Greeks and Bulgarians did not pay attention to one fact: the end of World War II did not guarantee 'automatic fraternization' of former allies. Capitalist Greece still refused to recognize socialist Macedonia under its 'UN name', while in Skopje and Belgrade they considered it superfluous to respond to Athens' dissatisfaction. The situation escalated in the 1990s, when after the collapse of Yugoslavia, FYROM declared independence and wished to be called exclusively Macedonia in international documents.
Since then, fierce disputes over the notorious 'geographical right' have not subsided between Skopje and Athens. At the end of 2007, the Greek government officially stated that bilateral negotiations on this issue constantly reach a dead end, and as if incidentally threatened that Greece could use its veto power at a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and simply not let its closest neighbor into the structures of the EU and NATO. Until the circumstances are clarified.
This scenario is extremely disadvantageous for the 'Republic of Skopje' – the former Yugoslav Macedonians have paid too high a price for friendship with the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. In particular, during the military operations in Kosovo, they sheltered tens of thousands of Albanian refugees, provided Western investors in the region with exceptional business conditions, and announced a reform of their army to bring the armed forces fully in line with NATO standards.
In turn, the Greeks say they do not want to put a spoke in the wheel of their Orthodox brothers, but, they say, principle is more important.
It is quite possible that the mutual bickering would have continued for another year or more. But the EU leadership intervened. As French President Nicolas Sarkozy noted in an address to the head of the Macedonian state, Branko Crvenkovski, Paris supports the earliest possible integration of Skopje into a united Europe and is even ready to exert some pressure on Athens, but for this it is necessary to develop a mechanism for relations between Greece and FYROM that will satisfy all parties without exception.
The proposal was not unfounded – at the beginning of last week, international mediator Matthew Nimetz presented to the government of Skopje three options for the name of FYROM. The republic could be called either 'Northern Macedonia', or 'Macedonian State of Yugoslavia', or even 'Skopje Macedonia'. However, as analysts claim, it is unlikely that any of these names will catch on.
"Even if the issue of the notorious name is put to a national referendum, as Crvenkovski plans, no one will guarantee that the local residents will approve the innovations," Senka Darinovic, a leading expert on Balkan issues at the Center for Political Science (Belgrade), told a Rosbalt correspondent. "Furthermore, even in the case of a positive decision on one of the names, the Macedonian authorities will need to push it through the structures of the European Union and the UN. And that will take time."
In the meantime, Balkan political scientists are asking: is it worth fighting so hard for a name if Macedonia may soon dissolve into a united Europe.
Zakhary KOPYSTETSKY. 