By Margaritis Schinas, Member of the European Parliament, Nea Demokratia/EPP-ED                               Ναυτικά Χρονικά, Τεύχος Ιουνίου

As the region’s oldest member of NATO and the European Union, Greece feels a strong sense of responsibility towards its neighbours and has always supported their Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

During the last NATO Summit in Bucharest, Greece strongly supported Albanian and Croatian membership of NATO. Unfortunately, this was not possible for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The Greek position was made clear from the outset: the name issue constitutes a serious political problem, and as long as it remains unresolved, it hampers the consolidation of alliances and partnerships. The Greek position was not only understood, but it also became that of the Alliance, confirming the credibility of the Greek arguments.

But what’s in a name? Let me put it as simply as possible. The term Macedonia has always been used to characterize a wider geographical region, parts of which today belong to Greece (51%), FYROM (38%) and Bulgaria (9%). Unfortunately, the leaders of FYROM have not only unilaterally styled their country Macedonia, which is a name that has been part of Greek history and culture for 3,500 years, but they also insist on being the sole legitimate claimant to the name of an entire region, the largest part of which lies outside FYROM’s borders. Unquestionably, the appropriation of the term Macedonia by a single country is in no way conducive to good neighbourly relations and regional stability.

The young governing elites of FYROM declare that they have no designs on Greek territory, culture and history. However, they refuse to remove such claims from textbooks, maps and national documents. Recent acts of provocation include renaming Skopje’s airport “Alexander the Great”, superimposing the swastika on giant posters of the Greek flag in the streets of Skopje, and tolerating the publication of a picture depicting the Greek Prime Minister as a Nazi officer. These actions clearly do not contribute to the development of good neighbourly relations, which as we all know are a prerequisite for NATO and EU accession. In this framework and as far as NATO is concerned, the Alliance supports full normalisation of relations not only between its members but also with third, neighbouring countries. FYROM’s counterproductive policy comes in spite of Greece’s efforts to support this country’s quest for economic development and political stability. Greece has already invested over 1 billion Euros in FYROM, becoming its largest foreign investor, and has created more than 20,000 jobs there in the last decade. 

For the last 17 years, Greece has tried to resolve the name issue under UN auspices. Its negotiating position is clear: it supports a composite name for FYROM that includes the geographical designation of the term but attaches an adjective to it, in order to distinguish it from the Greek province with the same name. Greece has unilaterally moved more than halfway on the issue. It is high time for FYROM to start shifting from its hard line.

Greece is strongly committed to finding a definitive solution. It is also part of its strategic vision of the region to build strong relations and sound cooperation with all countries in Southeastern Europe. The Greek government, with the support of all the other political families in the country, is eager to find a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue. It is our firm desire to leave that problem behind. It is in Greece's direct interest for FYROM to develop and prosper in a peaceful and democratic environment.

Following the outcome of the NATO Summit in April, Athens declared repeatedly its willingness to resume negotiations on the name issue as soon as possible, in the quest for a "win-win" outcome. As long as this problem remains unresolved, FYROM’s candidature for the EU and NATO will be problematic. After all, if you cannot agree with your neighbour you cannot have friendship, and without friendship, alliances and partnerships become impossible.