Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

International disputes

Naming dispute with Greece

The Republic of Macedonia is in dispute with Greece over its use of the name "Macedonia".

The Republic contains roughly 38% of the area and nearly 44% of the population of the geographical region known as Macedonia, the remainder of which is divided between neighbouring Greece (with about half of the total) and Bulgaria (with under a tenth). The lands governed by the Republic of Macedonia were known as the Vardarska banovina before 1945.

Greece objected to Yugoslavia's use of the name "Macedonia" to name its southernmost constituent republic. When that republic declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and then used ancient name and symbols that Greece considers Hellenic, the Greek government protested and deterred international recognition of the new country. The contentious issues have been:

• The name: Macedonia was claimed to be a Greek name, already in use for the Greek region of Macedonia.
• The flag: the sixteen-ray "Vergina Sun" star that was to appear on the flag was a symbol of the ancient state of Macedon, to which Greece claimed to be the sole heir. (For more on this, see Vergina.)
• The constitution: a reference in Article 49 to the Republic caring "for the status and rights of those persons belonging to the Macedonian people in neighboring countries, as well as Macedonian expatriates, assist[ing] their cultural development and promot[ing] links with them," which Greece interpreted as encouraging separatism among its own Macedonian Slav minority.

To compromise, the United Nations recognised the state under the name of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) in 1993.

Greece was still dissatisfied and it imposed a trade blockade in February 1994. The sanctions were lifted September 1995 after the Republic of Macedonia changed its flag to an eight-ray sun and not the Vergina Sun, changed the constitution to state explicitly that "The Republic of Macedonia has no territorial pretensions towards any neighboring state".

The two countries agreed to normalize relations but the state's name remains a source of local and international controversy. The usage of each name remains controversial to supporters of the other.

After the state was admitted to the United Nations under the FYROM name, other international organisations adopted the same convention, including the European Union, the European Broadcasting Union, NATO and the International Olympic Committee, among others. Most diplomats are accredited to the republic using the FYROM designation.

Conversely, at least 40 countries have recognised the country by its constitutional name – the Republic of Macedonia, rather than FYROM. These include the Philippines, Iran, Estonia, Malaysia, Russia, Pakistan, the People's Republic of China, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and others.

A permanent agreement on how the Macedonian republic should be referred to internationally has not yet been reached.

Boundary with Serbia

February 2001 agreement with Serbia and Montenegro settled alignment of boundary, stipulating implementation within two years.

Issues with the Albanians

The Albanian government calls for th protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in F.Y.R.O Macedonia while continuing to seek regional cooperation.

Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transferred a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O Macedonia.

The country is a major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish. It is also a minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe.

Although most criminal activity is thought to be domestic and not a financial center, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement (no arrests or prosecutions for money laundering to date).