The newly elected president of North Macedonia is accused of violating binding agreements with Greece by appealing to nationalist sentiments, hindering the country’s prospects of accession into the European Union, and sparking tensions with neighboring countries Greece and Bulgaria.
On May 12, during the presidential inauguration ceremony, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of the right-wing nationalist VRMO party caused an uproar by referring to her country by its old name of Macedonia, rather than its constitutionally recognized name of North Macedonia.
President Siljanovska-Davkova refused to use the word “North” when she was sworn in, insisting on her right to do so in public speeches as an act of personal self-determination. The move revealed the right-wing VRMO party’s strategy to appeal to nationalist sentiment in the country.
However, it angered its Greek neighbor who viewed it as a flagrant violation of the Prespa Agreement of 2018, which settled 25 years of dispute over the newly independent Balkan state’s name. Greece viewed the name Macedonia as a threat to its own Macedonian territory and identity, as it created an ambiguity between Greece’s region of Macedonia, south of North Macedonia, and its ancient territory of Macedon.
The Greek ambassador to North Macedonia walked out of the ceremony in protest, and tensions escalated to the point where far-right MP Kyriakos Velopoulos in Greece tore up the Prespa Agreement in Parliament on Wednesday. He described the VRMO as the “worst thing that fascist and Nazi people can choose.”
The country has threatened to block North Macedonia’s admission to the European Union over this controversy, despite North Macedonia being a candidate since 2005.
Bulgaria has also blocked accession to the EU for the past two years because of North Macedonia’s refusal to amend its constitution to acknowledge its Bulgarian minority.
Professor Oliver Andonov, a member of Parliament of the VMRO-DPMNE party and outward critic of Hristijan Mickoski, the party leader, was interviewed by Bulgarian media FrogNews, and stated that “it is not impossible to move from the European path of Macedonia and enter conflict with Greece, but also with Bulgaria.”
In “mobilizing the Macedonian population along ethnic lines,” the nationalist party VRMO has rejected claims to Bulgarian identity, refused to use its constitutional name of North Macedonia, and created an anti-Albanian sentiment.
Although the party’s nationalist appeal does not inherently mean an escalation of conflict with its neighbors, testing the limits of what is acceptable may still risk destabilizing the region. Since VRMO’s landslide victory in both the parliamentary and presidential elections on May 8, new tensions have emerged in the Balkans, especially between Athens and Skopje.
Bulgarian Professor Nickolay Ovcharov from the International Slavic Institute argues in favor of a tougher stance towards North Macedonia, accusing the VRMO of playing into the interests of Serbia and Russia. The professor asserts that if Skopje does not soften its tone, it risks “alienating neighboring EU countries” and becoming a “Trojan horse” for Russia into the European Union.
Macedonian Professor Andonov echoed this view, warning that “within a month, we will have a mini Vučić in Skopje,” — the President of Serbia who maintains friendly ties with Putin — and a possible security risk in the Balkans that only “Russia and its satellites” will benefit from.
A diminishing pathway to European accession
What would it mean for North Macedonia if the pathway to the European Union is severed?
Mr. Andonov warns that it would worsen an already unstable region, claiming that “The Balkans are at risk. Whether we will enter the EU or not — and so far we have not been in the EU, but we have not produced instability.”
Bujar Osmani, the minister of foreign affairs of Macedonia, emphasized the importance of EU integration for the stability of the Balkan region last year, stating that “the risk of ethnic conflicts is always present,” and that if North Macedonia fails to join, it will send the message that “in the Balkans, multi-ethnic democracies cannot work.”
Although the nationalists in North Macedonia have never accepted the Prespa Agreement, signed between the socialist SDSM party and the left-wing Syriza party in Greece, the EU Commission President highlighted the importance of respecting international treaties, regardless of personal opinions.
On X, Ursula von der Leyen posted, “for North Macedonia to continue its successful path on EU accession it is paramount that the country continues on the path of reforms and full respect for its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement.”
Although the leader of the VRMO Hristijan Mickoski views the Prespa Agreement as a humiliating concession made by the previous socialist government, the party nevertheless remains in favor of European membership.
However, it has refused to amend its constitution to accommodate Bulgarians, a pre-condition for accession. Mr. Mickoski replied to Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, who indicated that Bulgaria will not make any more concessions to North Macedonia, “then we will take care of our tasks here and wait for someone sensible to come with whom we can talk.”
