The Prespa Agreement was signed on June 12, 2018 by the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Northern Macedonia, as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was officially named. But what was the problem that this agreement "solved"?
It all started in 1991 with the secession of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from the federal Yugoslavia and declared their independence under the name "Republic of Macedonia". As we know, the word "Macedonia" is used to define the culture of the ancient Macedonians, a culture that historically belongs to the Greek nation. Macedonia is undoubtedly a part of Greek history. In geographical terms, most of Macedonia extended to Greece with smaller parts located in Northern Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria.
At the end of World War II, General Tito granted a federal state within the region of Vardar Banovina - in what is now the Republic of Northern Macedonia - within the then new federal Yugoslavia, thus separating it from Serbia. Tito first named this region as the "People's Republic of Macedonia" and later as the "Socialist Republic of Macedonia", while cultivating the idea of a distinct "Macedonian nation". Tito carried out this ideological propaganda with the desire to establish future territorial claims for the sake of Yugoslavia in the wider area of the real Macedonia and to secure a passage to the Aegean. He had publicly stated in 1994 that his goal was the reunification of "all parts of Macedonia that were divided in 1912 and 1913 by the Balkan imperialists."
In December 1944, a State Department telegram to the US authorities, signed by then-US Secretary of State Stettinius, stated: "They are unjustified demagogy that does not reflect any political reality and sees in them the rebirth of a possible mantle that will hide aggressive aspirations against Greece."
The issue reached the United Nations Security Council, which took two decisions - Resolution 817 (1993) & 845 (1993). These decisions took the form of a recommendation to both parties to find a speedy settlement of the name dispute and the remaining issues, for the sake of peaceful relations and good neighborliness in the region. In 1993, then-Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations following a Security Council resolution and a General Assembly resolution temporarily renaming it "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" until the two countries agreed on the name issue.
In 1995, Greece and Macedonia concluded the Interim Agreement, which set out a binding "code of conduct". According to Article 5 of the Interim Agreement, negotiations on the name issue would take place under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
On June 17, 2018, twenty-three years later, it was signed in Prespa by Foreign Ministers Kotzias and Dimitrov, and by the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Nimetz, as a witness, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Mr. Tsipras and Zaef, the "Final Agreement for the Settlement of Disputes Described in United Nations Security Council Resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993), the Termination of the 1995 Interim Agreement and the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership" .
The Prespa Agreement cannot be replaced by another agreement and also cannot be revoked. It will remain in force indefinitely and is legally binding on both countries once it has been ratified by the parliaments of both states. Some of the most important provisions of the Prespa Agreement are:
- The official constitutional name of Macedonia is defined as "Republic of Northern Macedonia". The short name of the state will be "Northern Macedonia".
- Citizenship is defined as Macedonian / citizen of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and you will write so in all travel documents.
- The official language is the "Macedonian language", as recognized by the Third United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, held in Athens in 1977, and is described in Articles 7 (3) and (4) of this Agreement.
- The creation of an international team of experts in the settlement of trade issues.
- The Parties recognize that their mutual understanding of the terms "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" refers to a different historical context and cultural heritage.
- The Second Part notes that its official language, the Macedonian language, belongs to the group of Southern Slavic languages. The Parties note that the official language and other characteristics of Part Two have nothing to do with the ancient Greek culture, history, culture and heritage of the northern part of Part One.
- Within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement, Part Two shall review the status of monuments, public buildings and infrastructure in its territory, and in so far as they relate in any way to ancient Greek history and culture which are an integral part of of the historical or cultural heritage of Part One, will take appropriate corrective action to address the issue effectively and to ensure respect for the aforementioned heritage.
