Brussels, 30/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nikola Gruevski, has called on Greece to support the opening of talks for his country's membership of the EU, during the European Council of 9 December. In a letter sent to his counterpart, Lucas Papademos, he underlined that a vote in favour of the talks would push forward European integration throughout the Balkans region. Gruevski takes the view that talks would help his country and Greece to resolve their conflict over the name of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, a conflict that is blocking the country's move forward to the EU. He explained that the past has shown how negotiation can encourage the settlement of disputes, as was the case between Croatia and Slovenia.
On Tuesday 29 November, when addressing the European Parliament's committee on foreign affairs, the foreign minster of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, underlined that it was pointless to delay talks, as this would not allow obstacles to be removed. A decision along these lines, he said, would influence the momentum of reform, and act on stabilisation of the region. Greece, as a member state of the EU, may play an extremely important role and revitalise the integration process, Poposki said, turning to MEPs to add: “We do not intend to wait or to backpedal - we need your help”.
Since 2009, the Commission has each year issued a favourable opinion to the launch of talks with FYROM but the question of the name of the country blocks any move forward. The United Nations International Court of Justice is to take a decision on the name of the country on 5 December. (CG/transl.jl)