UN Mediator Schedules New Macedonia ‘Name’ Talks
 

[url]http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/un-mediator-revives-macedonia-name-talks-11-17-2017[/url]

[B]UN Mediator Schedules New Macedonia ‘Name’ Talks[/B]

The long-expected re-boot of the UN-sponsored name talks between Macedonia and Greece will take place on December 11-12 in Brussels

The UN mediator in the dispute over Macedonia's name, US diplomat Matthew Nimetz, has set a date for a fresh round of talks on the issue, which is holding up Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration, for December 11-12 in Brussels.

“The meeting is part of the United Nations’ efforts to assist the sides in finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue,” the UN statement reads.

Amid a recent warming of relations between Athens and Skopje, the re-start of the name talks was originally expected to start next week but is now rescheduled for December.

The fresh round of talks comes as optimism in both countries grows for a settlement of the decades-old problem that has held up Macedonia’s aspiration to join NATO and the EU.

The dispute centres on Greece's insistence that use of the word "Macedonia" implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of the same name.

In 2008, Macedonia narrowly missed the chance to enter NATO solely because of the name dispute with Greece.

NATO at the time said that Macedonia would be able to join the alliance the moment it solved the bilateral dispute. Macedonia cannot start EU accession talks for the same reason.

Since the new Social Democrat-led government took power in Macedonia in May, both sides have stepped up bilateral communications and pledged to revive the UN-sponsored talks.

Both sides have expressed hope also that they will be able to agree on a mutually acceptable name by the middle of next year.

The UN-sponsored talks have effectively been frozen since 2014, partly owing to the political crisis that engulfed Macedonia in 2015 and ended only recently, with the election of a new government under Zoran Zaev.

Macedonia and Greece Reboot 'Name' Talks
 

[url]http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-greece-re-boot-name-talks-12-11-2017[/url]

[B]Macedonia and Greece Reboot 'Name' Talks[/B]

After three years of stalemate, Skopje and Athens are rebooting UN-sponsored talks on their dispute over Macedonia's name, which has been holding up the country's Euro-Atlantic integration process.

The fresh round of talks in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday on the long-standing name dispute comes amid a recent improvement of relations between neighbouring Greece and Macedonia, which has sparked increased optimism in Brussels and Washington for an early breakthrough.

“The meeting is part of the United Nations’ efforts to assist the sides in finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue,” the office of the UN mediator in the dispute, Matthew Nimetz, said in a press release.

As part of the renewed effort on Monday and Tuesday, Nimetz is to meet with Macedonian negotiator Vasko Naumovski and his Greek counterpart, Adamantios Vasilakis, both of whom will be accompanied by representatives of their foreign ministries.

The dispute centres on Greece's insistence that use of the word ‘Macedonia’ implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of the same name.

As a result, in 2008, Greece blocked Macedonia’s NATO entry and has also continued blocking the start of Macedonia’s EU accession talks despite several positive annual reports from the European Commission on the country’s progress.

It is not yet clear whether Nimetz will immediately come out with a fresh name proposal for Macedonia during the new talks or revive some old proposals.

These could include geographical references like Northern Macedonia, Upper Macedonia or the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje) in order to make a distinction between the country and the Greek province.

Gerald Knaus, the head of the European Stability Initiative think tank, said that for the talks to be successful, it is crucial to immediately focus solely on finding a mutually acceptable name with a geographical qualifier for international use.

This would allow Greece to unlock Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process for next year but would only come into full effect once Macedonia finally joins the EU, Knaus said in an interview with Macedonia’s NOVA TV.

It would ensure that “both sides have guarantees that if the other side goes off the path of reconciliation, they have not lost anything, and create a dynamic where both sides want to work together”, he said.

The UN-sponsored talks have effectively been frozen for three years. The last round was held in New York in November 2014.

The stalemate was partly due to the political crisis that engulfed Macedonia in 2015 and ended only recently with the election of a new government under Prime Minister Zoran Zaev

I thought we already had a thread for this one. I think one of the things I hate the most about this articles is the way it acts like Greece has a right to block a country over its name and that no one questions Greece's racism or the human rights violations involved in the whole thing.

Tomche I noticed you post a fair bit of articles from Balkan Insight, I have found this site to be rather utterly anti Macedonian and pro Zaev/USA/Albanian

The Greeks ethnically cleansed an entire nation on its territory, this is the narrative that should be told..

Greece is a fascist state, Macedonia should not change its name under any circumstances .. We already were in a multi cultural state with a Strong army and a similar culture. And it didn't work in our favour..

Anyway champ I'm not having a go at you, I'm just voicing my opinion about this web site..

Balkan Insight is definitely biased and anti-Macedonian, but that's hardly new as far as most news sources seem to go. At best those articles serve to know what narrative people are being told so we can specifically target that disinformation.

Not to mention the Greek trolls that plague the site. Given the site actually moderates comments, they still allow anti-Macedonian comments to get through.

Greek trolls plague [I]every[/I] site. They're a literal infestation.

while the two main Macedonian parties gobble amongst themselves, the country's name and Albanian rights are changing right under their noses.

No point in waking up when its too late, you might as well go back to sleep.

there is nothing temporary about change, look at our flag and the acronym...

Seems like there are reports that the name "New Macedonia" are being discussed. I'm against any name change, but this is definitely the worst one from the bunch.

[QUOTE=maco2envy;170989]Seems like there are reports that the name "New Macedonia" are being discussed. I'm against any name change, but this is definitely the worst one from the bunch.[/QUOTE]
Actually, it isn't bad.
And I like the new flag as well.
And apparently, in Ancient Pelasgian times there was a region that was pretty much the region of modern Macedonia called New Macedonia.
And someone found an ancient rock that said it.
And New Macedonian soldiers will have fought under this name soon enough.
And some old Macedonians will remain defiant and insist on being called FYROM because people have fought under that name also.
And we will soon hear all of this by the Fyromians.

:eek1: