Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union
North Macedonian EU accession bid | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Status | ||||||||||||||||
Candidate | ||||||||||||||||
Applied | 24 March 2004 | |||||||||||||||
Approved | 24 March 2020 | |||||||||||||||
Admitted | No | |||||||||||||||
Website | Secretariat for European Affairs | |||||||||||||||
Progress | ||||||||||||||||
Screening Progress | ❌ Not Yet Screened
| |||||||||||||||
Chapters Closed | ❌ Not Yet Negotiating
| |||||||||||||||
Ratification Progress | ❌ Not Yet Ratified by All EU Member States
| |||||||||||||||
Statistics | ||||||||||||||||
|
The accession of North Macedonia (formerly the Republic of Macedonia) to the European Union (EU) has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became a candidate for accession. Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004, thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of five current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The use of the country name "Macedonia" was the object of a dispute with neighboring Greece between 1991 and 2019, resulting in a Greek veto against EU and NATO accession talks, which lasted from 2008 to 2019. After the issue was resolved, the EU gave its formal approval to begin accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania in March 2020.[1] However, in November 2020 Bulgaria effectively blocked the official start of North Macedonia's EU Accession Negotiations over what it perceives as slow progress on the implementation of the 2017 Friendship Treaty between the two countries, state-supported or tolerated hate speech and minority claims towards Bulgaria.[2]
History[]
North Macedonia began its formal process of rapprochement with the European Union in 2000, by initiating negotiations about the EU's Stabilisation and Association Process, and it became the first non-EU country in the Balkans to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), on 9 April 2001 in Luxembourg. The agreement was ratified by the Macedonian parliament on 12 April 2001 and came into force on 1 April 2004.
On 22 March 2004, Macedonia submitted its application for EU membership. On 6 September 2004, the Macedonian government adopted a National Strategy for European integration, supported by the country's parliament through its Commission for European Issues. The government subsequently began the procedure of answering the questionnaire of the European Commission regarding its performance in preparation for membership in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria, a process that was finished by 31 January 2005. The European Council officially granted the country candidate status on 17 December 2005, after a review and a positive recommendation of the candidacy by the European Commission.
After the naming dispute with Greece was solved in 2019, accession negotiations were expected to start within the same year, but in June 2019 the EU General Affairs Council decided to postpone the decision to October, due to objections from a number of countries including the Netherlands and France.[3] France vetoed the decision again in October.[4] On 25 March 2020 the Council of the European Union decided to open accession negotiations, which was endorsed by the European Council the following day.[5][6] However, on November 17, 2020 Bulgaria has blocked the official start of accession talks with the country.[7] North Macedonia is now expected to offer further guarantees to Bulgaria, that it will keep on a 2017 friendship treaty with Sofia, which deals with thorny historical issues.
Name dispute with Greece[]
Politics of North Macedonia |
---|
North Macedonia portal
|
A major obstacle for the accession process was the Republic's unresolved objection by Greece over its name, as Greece argued that it implied territorial ambitions towards Greece's own northern province of Macedonia. While the country preferred to be called by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, the European Union, in acknowledgment of concerns raised by Greece, maintained a practice of recognising it only as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", a compromise of "provisional reference" introduced by the United Nations in 1993. Greece, as any other EU country, has veto power against new accessions, and blocked Macedonian accession due to the naming dispute.[8][9][10][11]
On 12 June 2018, an agreement was reached between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, known as the Prespa agreement,[12] under which the country would be renamed the "Republic of North Macedonia".[13] As part of this deal, Greece explicitly withdrew its previous opposition, allowing the EU to approve on 26 June 2018 a pathway to starting accession talks.[14]
Historical and linguistic dispute with Bulgaria[]
Although Bulgaria was the first country to recognize the independence of the then Republic of Macedonia, most of its academics, as well as the general public, do not recognize the Macedonian language and nation formed after the Second World War as being separate from Bulgarian proper.[15] As part of the efforts to find a solution to the Macedonia name dispute with Greece, the Macedonian constitution was changed twice (in 1995, and then again in 2018) to formally exclude any possible territorial aspirations towards neighboring countries.[16][17] Some Macedonian politicians consider Bulgarian territory to be part of a greater Macedonia, claiming the majority of the population there are oppressed ethnic Macedonians.[18] Macedonia and Bulgaria signed a friendship treaty to improve their complicated relations in August 2017. A joint commission on historical and educational issues was formed in 2018 to serve as a forum where controversial historical and educational issues could be raised and discussed. This commission has made little progress in its work for a period of one year.[19] In October 2019, Bulgaria set out a “Framework position” warning that it would block the accession process unless North Macedonia fulfilled demands regarding anti-Bulgarian ideology in the country,[20][21] and ultimately over an 'ongoing nation-building process' based on historical negationism of the Bulgarian identity, culture and legacy in the broader region of Macedonia.[22][23][24] Bulgarian politicians claim North Macedonia remains the only country in NATO, that is an EU-candidate, which politics is based on communist historical and linguistic dogmas accepted by ASNOM.[25] Concerning the Macedonian language, Bulgaria advises the EU to avoid using the term “Macedonian language” during the accession talks, and instead use the term “Official language of Republic of North Macedonia”, reaffirming that it does not recognize the language as separate from Bulgarian.[26] In North Macedonia this is widely perceived as a direct attack to national identity and language. [27]
In September 2020 Bulgaria has sent an explanatory memorandum to the Council of the European Union containing its framework position on the accession of North Macedonia.[28] On November 17, 2020, Bulgaria refused to approve the European Union's negotiation framework for North Macedonia, effectively blocking the official start of accession talks with this country over slow progress on the implementation of the 2017 Friendship Treaty between the two countries, state-supported or tolerated hate speech and minority claims towards Bulgaria.[2]
The veto received condemnation by some intellectuals [29] and criticism from international observers.[30][31] A survey conducted in Nov 2020, by Alpha Research of 803 people from all over Bulgaria, found that 83.8% of Bulgarians were against the accession of North Macedonia in the EU, only 10.2% of Bulgarians supported the accession with the rest not having an opinion.[32][33]
Domestic politics[]
EU funding[]
North Macedonia has so far received €1.3 billion of development aid until 2020 from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.
Campaign[]
The government's motto for the candidacy is "The Sun, too, is a star.", referring to the sun from the flag of North Macedonia being displayed among the other stars in the flag of Europe.
Government structuring[]
North Macedonia's government has established a management infrastructure for the European integration process on the basis of a paper adopted in 1997 under the title "The strategic bases of the Republic of [North] Macedonia on achieving the membership of the European Union". It consists of the following institutions:
- The Committee for Euro-Atlantic Integration plays the central role in the decision-making of the country's policies in the European integration process. It is chaired by the Prime Minister with members including Deputy Prime Ministers, all ministers in the Government, the Governor of the National Bank of North Macedonia, and the President of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
- The Working Committee for European Integration of the Government of the Republic of [North] Macedonia (WCEI) – It is chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of EU Integration, whose deputy is the Minister of Economy. The members are the secretaries from all Ministries. It is an operational, inter-ministerial body establishing the methods and dynamics for implementation of strategic decisions, political guidelines and priorities of the Government, as well as monitoring the realisation of the concrete tasks.
- The Deputy to the President of the Government is responsible for the European integration as centre in the management and co-ordination of the operational part of the integration process. Its support and service is the Sector for European Integration within the General Secretariat of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
- The Sector for European Integration within the Republic's government is given the task to organise, co-ordinate and synchronise the EU integration process. It is organised in seven units in charge of the approximation of the national legislation with that of the EU, translation of the EU legal acts, institution building, support to the WCEI, co-ordination of foreign assistance, and information to the broader public on EU and the European integration process.
- Departments/Sectors/Units for European Integration within the Ministries have similar structure and competencies as the central Sector for European Integration within the Government, being a key link in the institutional infrastructure.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs – EU domain – is responsible for communications with the EU structures through the Mission of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Brussels, gathering valid and timely information that have impact on the integration process and presenting the uniform perspectives and positions in the European structures.
The other institutions supporting the EU integration process are the following:
- the Republic's Assembly and its Commission for European Issues
- the Secretariat for Legislation
- the General Secretariat of the Government
- the Subcommittee of the WCEI for approximation of the legislation with its working groups
Ethnic Albanian sentiments[]
Sentiments among ethnic Albanians of North Macedonia are traditionally strongly pro-EU.[34]
Chronology of relations with the EU[]
Visa liberalisation process[]
On 1 January 2008 the visa facilitation and readmission agreements between Macedonia and the EU entered into force.[55] Macedonia began a visa liberalisation dialogue with the EU in February 2008 and was added to the list of visa exempt nationals on 19 December 2009, allowing their citizens to enter the Schengen Area, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania without a visa when travelling with biometric passports.[56]
Negotiation progress[]
The screening process is underway and no chapters have been opened thus far.
Impact of joining[]
Member countries | Population | Area (km2) | GDP (billion US$) |
GDP per capita (US$) |
Languages |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Macedonia | 2,058,539 | 25,713 | 10.98 | 4,935 | Macedonian |
EU27 | 446,824,564 | 4,136,556 | 17,267 | 39,114 | 24 |
EU27+1 | 448,883,103 (+0.47%) |
4,162,269 (+0.62%) |
17,277.98 (+0.06%) |
38,957 (–0.4%) |
25 |
See also[]
- North Macedonia–NATO relations
- Yugoslavia and the European Economic Community
References[]
- ^ "EU Leaders Give Final OK To Begin North Macedonia, Albania Membership Talks". RadioFreeEurope. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Bulgaria threatens to veto North Macedonia's EU talks". POLITICO. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ "Divided Europe deals major blow to North Macedonia's EU accession hopes". Euractiv. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "EU blocks Albania and North Macedonia membership bids". BBC. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "ENLARGEMENT AND STABILISATION AND ASSOCIATION PROCESS - the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Albania - Council conclusions". Council of the European Union. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Joint statement of the Members of the European Council" (PDF). European Council. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Bulgaria blocks EU membership talks for North Macedonia, Politico, November 17, 2020.
- ^ "Embassy of Greece – Washington, DC". Answer of FM Ms. D. Bakoyannis regarding the FYROM name issue. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2006.
- ^ "United Macedonian Diaspora". Interview with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
- ^ "Report by B. Khiotis: «Εγώ δεν είπα ποτέ τη λέξη βέτο»[permanent dead link] (in Greek) ("I never used the word veto"), To Vima, 11 September 2007
- ^ "Macedonia and Greece: Deal after 27-year row over a name". BBC News. 12 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "FINAL AGREEMENT FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE DIFFERENCES AS DESCRIBED IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS 817 (1993) AND 845 (1993), THE TERMINATION OF THE INTERIM ACCORD OF 1995, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE PARTIES" (PDF). Kathimerini.gr. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Tsipras: Republic of North Macedonia' for universal use". Kathimerini. 12 June 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ "ENLARGEMENT AND STABILISATION AND ASSOCIATION PROCESS – Council conclusions" (PDF). Council of the European Union. 26 June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Bernard A. Cook, Andrej Alimoved ed., Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia, Volume 2; Europe Since 1945, Taylor & Francis, 2001; ISBN 0815340583, pp. 810-811.
- ^ CR Craven, Matthew (1995). "What's in a Name? The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and issues of statehood". Australian Year Book of International Law. 16: 199–239. doi:10.1163/26660229-016-01-900000005.
- ^ Buldioski, Goran; Tcherneva, Vessela (2 December 2018). "How to advance a European solution to Bulgaria's and North Macedonia's dispute". European Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Raymond Detrez, The A to Z of Bulgaria; G - Reference, Edition 2; SCARECROW Press, 2010; ISBN 0810872021, pp. 277-278.
- ^ Georgi Gotev, Borissov warns North Macedonia against stealing Bulgarian history. EURACTIV.com. Jun 20, 2019.
- ^ "РАМКОВА ПОЗИЦИЯ ОТНОСНО РАЗШИРЯВАНЕ НА ЕС И ПРОЦЕСА НА СТАБИЛИЗИРАНЕ И АСОЦИИРАНЕ: РЕПУБЛИКА СЕВЕРНА МАКЕДОНИЯ И АЛБАНИЯ" [FRAMEWORK POSITION ON EU ENLARGEMENT AND THE STABILIZATION AND ASSOCIATION PROCESS: THE REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN MACEDONIA AND ALBANIA]. www.gov.bg (in Bulgarian). Министерски съвет. 9 October 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Bulgaria Sets Tough Terms for North Macedonia’s EU Progress Skopje. BIRN; October 10, 2019. Archived 11 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Foreign Minister Zaharieva: Bulgaria Cannot Approve EU Negotiating Framework with North Macedonia - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
- ^ The eye expanded : life and the arts in Greco-Roman antiquity. Titchener, Frances B., 1954-, Moorton, Richard F. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1999. ISBN 978-0-520-91970-9. OCLC 43476423.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ Benson, Leslie. (2004). Yugoslavia : a concise history (Rev. and updated ed.). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-9720-9. OCLC 559698344.
- ^ Ковачев: Никој не сака да го земе Делчев, тој е на Македонија, тој е и на Бугарија. 18 септември 2020, МКД.мк.
- ^ Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Bulgaria Sets Tough Terms for North Macedonia’s EU Progress Skopje. BIRN; October 10, 2019. Archived 11 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hajdari, Una (8 December 2020). "Tongue-tied: Bulgaria's language gripe blocks North Macedonia's EU path". Encyclopedia of Things. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ Bulgaria sends memorandum to the Council on North Macedonia. 9/17/20 Radio Bulgaria.
- ^ "Bulgarian intellectuals: Unacceptable to deny Macedonian nation, language; green-light talks immediately". 5 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Bulgaria asks EU to stop 'fake' Macedonian identity". Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Der Spiegel: Bulgaria Misuses Its Right of Veto for Nationalistic Purposes". Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "83,8% от българите са против Македония в ЕС". Fakti.bg - Да извадим фактите наяве. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ "Близо 84% от българите не подкрепят Скопие за ЕС". Fakti.bg - Да извадим фактите наяве. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ^ Bechev, Dimitar. "What next after the failed Macedonian referendum?". www.aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018. "the Albanian community, which is traditionally strongly pro-NATO and EU."
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Macedonia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Croatia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Albania". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Montenegro". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "EU, Montenegro complete negotiations on pre-membership deal to bring country closer to bloc". International Herald Tribune. The Associated Press. 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Bosnia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Serbia". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "SAA Agreement with Kosovo*". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Feasibility Study for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "EU starts the Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations with Kosovo". European Commission. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "Stabilization and Association Agreement is initialled". Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Kosovo. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo signed". European Commission. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Kosovo to negotiate on Stabilisation and Association Agreement". 27 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations successfully completed". European External Action Service. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Kosovo Launches Crucial SAA Talks With EU". Balkan Insight. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- ^ "Information relating to the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and Kosovo (*), of the other part". EUR-Lex. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ "Macedonia PM in Greek outburst after EU summit". EurActiv. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
- ^ RFE/RL's Balkan Service (24 March 2020). "After Years Of Delay, North Macedonia, Albania Get OK To Begin EU Accession Talks". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- ^ "EU-the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia relations". European Commission. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "EU lifts visa restrictions for Serbia". 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ "North Macedonia 2020 Report" (PDF). European Commission. Brussels: European Commission. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 2011 PROGRESS REPORT" (PDF). European Commission. 10 December 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 2012 PROGRESS REPORT" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 2013 PROGRESS REPORT" (PDF). European Commission. 16 October 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 2014 PROGRESS REPORT" (PDF). European Commission. 8 October 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Report 2015" (PDF). European Commission. 11 October 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2016 Report" (PDF). European Commission. 9 November 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2018 Report" (PDF). European Commission. 17 April 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "North Macedonia 2019 Report" (PDF). European Commission. 29 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ "North Macedonia 2020 Report" (PDF). European Commission. Brussels: European Commission. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
External links[]
- Contemplated enlargements of the European Union
- North Macedonia–European Union relations
- Politics of North Macedonia