BRUSSELS, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as it is known to some, says a dispute with Greece over its name may be behind its slow international progress.
Officials in Skopje, along with 120 countries including Russia, the United States, China, Canada, Turkey, as well as some EU member states, simply refer to the country as "Macedonia." But Greece says that name belongs to a region of its country, and a Macedonian official told Tuesday's European Observer he believes the name dispute is what's hurting its chances to join the EU.
The European Commission last month declined to recommend launching a membership program for Macedonia, officially citing such deficiencies as violent incidents that took place there during this summer's elections.
But Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told the Observer he believes the real reason is Greece's 17-year struggle to deny Macedonia its name, saying the name issue has been "misused by one EU member country." He added the name issue is "to a certain extent taking hostage the credibility of the EU" when it comes to establishing objective membership criteria.
