SKOPJE (Macedonia), January 14 (SeeNews) – Macedonia's parliament has endorsed four amendments to the country's Constitution on renaming the former Yugoslav republic to North Macedonia in line with an agreement with neighbouring Greece signed last year, the government said.
The agreement will have to be endorsed by the Greek parliament for the name change to enter into force.
The Constitutional amendments open the way for Macedonia to join NATO and the EU, the government said in a press release late on Friday, following the vote in parliament.
The decision of the parliament is proof that the Macedonia is moving towards a brighter future, but also an obligation to work harder, the country’s prime minister Zoran Zaev said in a separate statement on Saturday.
The Constitutional changes were welcomed by the EU.
“We express our wholehearted congratulations on the Parliament's vote on the constitutional changes,” the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a joint statement late on Friday.
“Political leaders and citizens alike have shown their determination to seize this unique and historic opportunity in solving one of the oldest disputes in the region, and decisively move forward on the European Union path,” the statement noted, adding that the EU strongly supports this agreement which sets an example of reconciliation for the region and Europe as a whole.
On June 17 the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece signed an agreement on the name change, aiming to put an end to a dispute that has blocked Macedonia's accession to NATO and the EU.
On October 18, NATO launched formal accession talks with Macedonia.
Athens has blocked Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU for 27 years over the country's name. According to Greece, the current name Republic of Macedonia implies territorial claims on the Greek northernmost province of the same name.