"After the elections in North Macedonia, the new majority made provocative statements and violated the text and spirit of the Prespa Treaty. The EU and the international community must realize that compliance with the agreement is the only path to further democratic integration, to EU membership and pre-accession aid."
This is stated in a joint position of the former prime ministers of North Macedonia and Greece, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras, before Euroactive, BGNES reported.
The two stated that the violation of the agreement will contribute to further destabilization of the region and will call into question the European, but also the future of North Macedonia as a whole.
"As long as this condition is met, the EU must be ready to abandon the approach we have observed for the past six years and start a proactive role towards enlargement," Zaev and Tsipras pointed out.
"It is necessary to make it clear to the countries of the region that the peaceful resolution of differences brings benefits to the citizens of the Balkans, and that the authorities understand that the victims are rewarded. As the far right gains strength, democrats, moderates and progressive leaders must work together and redouble their efforts against nationalism," the former prime ministers insist.
"In the nearly 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, our two countries have been divided by the 'name dispute', which has hindered relations between our peoples and weakened regional stability and the European perspective of the Western Balkans," the statement added. .
BGNES reminds that the Prespa Treaty was signed on June 17, 2018 in the village of Nivitsi on the shore of the Great Prespa Lake. The agreement was concluded by the foreign ministers of both countries, Nikos Kodzias and Nikola Dimitrov, in the presence of Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev. The agreement ended the long-standing dispute over Macedonia's name between the authorities in Skopje and Athens.
The signing was attended by UN Special Representative Matthew Nimitz, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn. | BGNES
