After a ‘horrible 20th century’, in which the country suffered conflicts, ethnic cleansing and the denial of its national identity, it has become a stabilising force in the region. Two of the country’s most important aims since the adoption of its constitution in 1991 have been membership of the EU and NATO, although EU prospects are currently marred by a dispute about the country’s official name.
Currently, the full official name of the state is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, but the hope is that it will be possible to use the shorter, simpler ‘Macedonia’. Greece objects to this because it has a region of the same name. Bocevski stated that Greece has not shown the willing shown by the Macedonians themselves to resolve the issue, quoting high level meetings in Macedonia for the UN mediator, compared to informal gatherings in Greece.
The country has been a candidate country since 2005, but accession negotiations have not yet begun. This is in sharp contrast to Croatia, which started accession negotiations already in 2005 and hopes to finish accession negotiations in the next few months and become an official accession country (and thus enter into membership negotiations).
When referring to the recent conflict in Georgia, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the war could have two possible effects on Macedonia: encouraging the country to move towards integration with the EU, or the opposite; encouraging other options for Macedonia’s future to be considered.
TRIALOG will hold a first training for Macedonian NGOs in October. It will focus on development education and funding opportunities for Macedonian organisations within the EC context (see "Events").
Links:
- EurActiv: Macedonia digs heels in on name dispute: http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/macedonia-digs-heels-name-dispute/article-175153
- European Policy Centre: Transition from the European periphery to the European core:
http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER/EN/detail&l=&AI=841
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