Review article
NOMEN EST OMEN: “ETERNAL” DISPUTE BETWEEN GREECE AND MACEDONIA
Iva Kornfein
; Institut za razvoj i međunarodne odnose u Zagrebu
Abstract
While Greece faces a complete financial collapse, it still has the strength to lead a dispute with Macedonia over state´s name. Although the International Court of Justice has condemned Greece on 5th of December 2011 for blocking Macedonia’s accession to NATO, it appears that neither Macedonia is trying to diplomatically resolve that dispute. For example, in mid-2011 at the main square in Skopje, Macedonians have placed a 12-meter statue of Alexander the Great, and the airport in Skopje was also renamed Alexander the Great which for obvious reasons exacerbated the Greeks. Although independent Macedonia has been recognized under this constitutional name, Greece has anyway put a veto on its European integration because Macedonia did not want (and still refuses) to change the state´s name. However, considering that Greece, with Spain and Portugal, is one of the weakest links in the European Union and that the European Union has plans to integrate Western Balkans, it remains to be seen whether Greece will be able to continue insisting on alternation of the Macedonian name, and if so will it ever happen? Almost two years after the verdict of International Court of Justice, there is still no solution in sight.
Keywords
Dispute between Greece and Macedonia; problem of official state name; International Court of Justice; European integration
Hrčak ID:
112879
URI
Publication date:
25.6.2013.
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