2/9/2007 - Foreign relations

FOREIGN RELATIONS

General situation

The Republic of Macedonia is a member of a number of international organisations such as the United Nations, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Council of Europe, associate member of La Francophonie, World Trade Organization (WTO) etc. It is seeking to join NATO and the European Union, although its accession to either is unlikely to occur before 2008 and 2012, respectively. In December 2005, the leaders of the EU formally named it as a candidate country but did not set a date for starting entry talks.

The United States Agency for International Development has underwritten a project called Macedonia Connects which has made the Republic of Macedonia the first all broadband wireless country its size or larger in the world. The Ministry of Education and Sciences reports that 461 schools (primary and secondary) are now connected to the internet. In addition, the Internet Service Provider named On.net has created a MESH Network to provide WIFI services in the 11 largest cities/towns in the country.

Diplomatic representation

The Republic of Macedonia is represented abroad by embassies in the following countries: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, People's Republic of China, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, and the Vatican.

The Republic of Macedonia also maintains consulates or representative offices in Pristina, Serbia; Thessaloniki, Greece; Toronto, Canada; Detroit, USA; Istanbul, Turkey and Podgorica, Montenegro. There are also permanent missions at the UN, NATO, EU, UNESCO, Council of Europe, and FAO headquarters. There is currently no representation in Taiwan (Republic of China) since 2001 when diplomatic relations were formally severed between the two countries and the Macedonian embassy in Beijing was reopened.

Greece

The Republic of Macedonia generally has good relations with Greece and includes substantial foreign investment to the Republic of Macedonia from Greece. However, the naming dispute has inhibited the establishment of full diplomatic relations so far but has not prevented Greece and the Republic from engaging in military and security co-operation, cross-border investments, and cultural exchanges. The November 2005 European Commission report states that, "Relations with Greece have improved in the last few years. Greece is the most important investor in the country (57% of the total foreign investments) and trade has been constantly increasing."

The November 2006 European Commission report states that, "In December 2005 the two countries opened an Office for Consular, Economic and Trade Relations in Bitola and a Consulate in Thessaloniki respectively. Cooperation has developed in many areas, including transport, health, security, culture and customs. However, there has been no progress on the name issue which remains an open problem. Renewed efforts are needed, with a constructive approach, to find a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the name issue with Greece, under the auspices of the UN, within the framework of UN Security Council Resolutions (EEC) No 817/93 and (EEC) No 845/93, thereby contributing to regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations."

Former Greek foreign minister, M. Papakonstandinou, clearly expressed Athens' position towards the republic, "Greek interests demand that this state survives. It must exist [...] This is the firm position of [both ND and PASOK]." (ref: Interview with the minister. In, 'Andi' (weekly socio-political journal), Nr 588, 13 October 1995).

Due to the dispute over the name, the United Nations agreed to a provisional reference — "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) (Macedonian: Поранешна Југословенска Република Македонија (ПЈРМ)) — when it became a member state in 1993 [6]. Most international organizations adopted the same convention, including the European Union, NATO, the International Monetary Fund, the European Broadcasting Union, and the International Olympic Committee, among others. The EU recognises the country as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and the negotiations with the EU are held using this reference [7], [8].

However, an increasing number of countries have abandoned the United Nations provisional references and have recognised the country as the Republic of Macedonia instead. These include three of the five permanent UN Security Council members: the United States, Russia, and the People's Republic of China, although as the UN name for the country is FYROM, the constitutional name is only used in relations where a state not recognizing it is not a party.

From 1992 to 1995, the two countries also engaged in a dispute over the Republic's first flag, which incorporated the Vergina Sun symbol, a symbol of the ancient Kingdom of Macedon. Its adoption by the Republic of Macedonia, on 3 July 1992, was seen as a reaction by Skopje to Athens' pressure to change the name. This aspect of the dispute was permanently resolved after an interim accord between the two states, when the flag was changed by an act of parliament, in October 1995.

Irredentist ethnic Macedonian groups, however, propagate the idea of United Macedonia, calling for the bringing of Greek and Bulgarian territories under the control of the Republic of Macedonia.

Bulgaria

The Republic of Macedonia maintains uneven relations with the Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgaria was the first country to recognize Macedonian independence and the republic under its constitutional name. Many Macedonian students matriculate in Bulgarian universities. Bulgaria supports the Macedonian bid to enter the EU and NATO. It also donated a large amount of tanks, artillery and other materials to the Macedonian army.

According to Bulgarian media, there have been repeated cases of anti-Bulgarian violence towards citzens with a Bulgarian national conscience and desecrations [9]. The Bulgarian government maintains that there has been conducted in Macedonia an active propaganda against Bulgaria (the police being indifferent in this respect), and that Skopje maintains a harsh attitude towards its citizens with a Bulgarian conscience.[citation needed]

Issues have also been raised over what many Bulgarians view as appropriation and falsification of their history, and the treatment in the Republic of Macedonia of people espousing a Bulgarian national identity. The organization of the Bulgarian minority in the Republic of Macedonia "Radko" for example (which was later banned by the Macedonian Constitutional Court) had been publicly harassed after they claimed that there is no Macedonian ethnicity today, and the perpetrators were acclaimed as heroes by the media.

Bulgaria is also concerned at repeated territorial claims against it, backed by the Skopje authorities; for instance, according to the new Macedonian encyclopedia (funded by the Ministry of Culture), some parts of Bulgaria are represented in Macedonia.

Another point of contention in the relationship between the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria is the latter's refusal to recognise the existence of a separate Macedonian ethnicity, instead considering Macedonians to be Bulgarians and their language as a regional "norm" based on local Bulgarian dialects [12]. The so called "language dispute", which started in 1993 and was effectively impeding diplomatic relations, was resolved in 1999 when the two governments adopted the formula "the official language in the Republic of Macedonia, and the official language in Bulgaria" in their bilateral agreements where they use the Macedonian and Bulgarian languages.[citation needed]

Similarly, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court has banned the political party of the ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria UMO Ilinden-Pirin as separatist; this measure was found not to be "proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued" on October 20, 2005 by the European Court of Human Rights.

European Union candidacy and membership

Main article: Accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union

The EU leaders on the meeting held in Thessaloniki in 2003 promised western Balkan countries that they will become an integral part of the EU, once they meet the established criteria. As part of the ongoing efforts to expand its membership, the European Union (EU) granted the Republic of Macedonia candidate status on 17 December 2005, but with no promise of when such negotiations could start. France had made a budget deal as a condition for granting the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia candidate status and Greece agreed not to veto the decision on the premise that the name dispute will be resolved. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied for full membership on 22 March 2004. Vlado Bučkovski, then minister of defence and later prime minister, hailed the decision as a "one-way ticket" to the EU for his country.

The country is still included in the black visa list of the EU. According to the EU, namely in accordance with its Copenhagen criteria, the main obstacles towards eventual EU membership for Republic of Macedonia concern good relations with neighbouring countries and reforms to its judicial and police systems. Also, growth rate lags behind that of most EU members, unemployment is high, and foreign investment is relatively low. The decentralisation process imposed after the six-month conflict in 2001 still requires full implementation. In principle, the relatively low population and European characteristics of the Republic promise few strains on the EU budget. At a press conference held in March 2006, German chancellor Angela Merkel suggested a privileged partnership for potential members. Following the rejection of the EU constitution by the French and Dutch voters, the EU is in a period of reflection (time to decide what to do next) that can last for several years. This decision seems to delay the prospect of EU membership for candidates like Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey for some period. The French have warned that they want strict application of the notion of absorption capacity for the EU - a concept which has existed since 1993 but which has rarely been highlighted.

Another problem in the relations between the EU and the Republic of Macedonia is the EU visa regime with the country, fostering resentment and inhibiting progress on trade, business, education etc, contributing negatively to regional stability.

In February 2006, the Republic became the fourth member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), joining Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. CEFTA acts as 'sandbox' to encourage joint efforts for the integration of participating countries in Western European institutions and look for opportunities for close economic and political co-operation.

The naming dispute with Greece remains an unresolved issue in the country's accession to the EU. On August 29, 2006, the Greek foreign minister, Ms.Dora Bakoyannis, affirmed that "...the Hellenic Parliament, under any composition, will not ratify the accession of the neighbouring country to the EU and NATO if the name issue is not resolved beforehand."

More recently, EU sources have confirmed that the Republic of Macedonia's hope of starting accession talks next year cannot succeed, since its new prime minister Nikola Gruevski has shut out the former Yugoslav republic's ethnic Albanian minority and has politicised many state institutions.