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Macedonia Starts Name Change Procedure, Amid Praise

October 20, 201811:00
Macedonia’s government will try to speed up the implementation of the historic ‘name’ agreement with Greece after parliament backed starting the procedure to change the country's name, with the opposition expelling its MPs who supported the deal.

After Macedonia’s parliament gave its backing to changing the country’s name on Friday night, the government expressed optimisim about the next two phases required in amending the constitution to allow this, and hopes to muster even greater support from opposition MPs.

“I wish to thank these brave [opposition] VMRO DPMNE legislators… who put the interest of the country and citizens before their partisan interests, despite the unnecessary political pressure from their party leadership,” Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told a press conference after the voting, the first phase in the procedure for constitutional amendements to be made.

Late on Friday night, after a day of high tensions and uncertainty, Zaev’s government passed a key test when 80 legislators voted in favor and 39 against its motion to start the procedure to change the constitution to allow the country’s name to become the Republic of North Macedonia – as required under the deal reach with Greece this summer.

Out of 48 MPs from the opposition VMRO DPMNE-led coalition, whose leadership firmly opposes the ‘name’ agreement, eight voted in favour, which was crucial for achieving the required two-thirds majority.

Zaev said that even more opposition MPs had initially expressed will to vote in favour, and hopes that some of them will back the deal during the next two rounds of voting.

However, opposition VMRO DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski was not thrilled. At a midnight press conference he said that the party leadership had expelled the seven VMRO DPMNE MPs who dared to disobey its directive.

“They will now have to live with this shame,” Mickoski said, accusing the ruling majority of exerting pressure and blackmail on their MPs.

The eighth opposition MP who voted in favour came from the ranks of the small opposition Socialist Party, an ally of VMRO DPMNE.

Process moves forward:

After Friday’s successful vote to start the name-change procedure, the government now has 15 days to submit the draft amendments to the constitution to the parliament for a repeat vote.

“We will not waste time and will try to speed up the process,” Zaev said on Friday.

If MPs pass the draft amendments, they will also have to be sent for a public debate, after which parliament will have to vote for the third and final time. The third vote will again require a two-thirds majority.

This process could take until the end of the year and its finalisation would again be impossible without the repeated support of at least some of the opposition legislators.

The eight MPs whose votes proved crucial for the ruling majority issues a joint statement on Friday in which they conditioned their further support with four demands.

Three of them tackle the need for additional guarantees for the Macedonian identity and guarantees that if Greece continues blocking the country’s EU and NATO accession in the future, the name deal would become null.

The fouth condition demands the formation of a parliamentary committee that would mull ways for national reconciliation and “forgiveness” in Macedonia’s sharply politically divided society.

Responding these requests, Zaev on Friday said that he has no problem with it, insisting that he too sees a need for reconciliation.

However, answering concerns that the fourth demand may hide an attempt for an amnesty for the former and current VMRO DPMNE officials who are currently standing trial for various alleged crimes, he said that he had “no intention in any way to interfere in the work of the judiciary”.

International and Regional praises:

The breakthrough in the Macedonia parliament was met with international and regional congratulations and praises.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the successful voting.

“It’s up to the government and political leaders to complete national procedures on the name agreement and seize this historic opportunity to bring the country into NATO,” Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.

European Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn tweeted that it was “A great day for democracy in Skopje MK!”.

He also congratualted “all those who decided to walk along the EU path. I expect that the free choice of all MPs is fully respected, especially of those who crossed the aisle tonight. We need statesmanship, not party-games.”

Greek Foreign Minister Alexis Tsipras quickly commended his Macedonian counterpart after the vote.

 “Congratulations my friend Zoran Zaev! Tonight’s vote is a big step towards our common success. A very important step to a peaceful and prosperous future for our people!” Tsipras wrote on Twitter.

If and when Macedonia implements the constitutional changes, it will be up to the Greek government to push for ratification of the “name” agreement in the parliament in Athens as the final step towards its completion.

An informal deadline to implement the deal comes in March next year, in order for the Greek parliament to be able to ratify the agreement before Greece goes to general elections, in which political forces opposed to the agreement have a real chance of winning.

Read more:

Macedonia’s Parliament Backs ‘Name’ Agreement with Greece

Greek FM Resigns After Quarrel Over Macedonia ‘Name’ Deal

Timeline: The Path to Macedonia’s ‘Name’ Deal