Republic of Macedonia

North Macedonia is risking its future in the European Union by disregarding the Prespa Agreement on its constitutional name, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said.

Messages and warnings were sent to North Macedonia by Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his attendance at the EU Summit of the 27, which took place yesterday in Brussels.

All eyes in Athens were on North Macedonia this weekend, as its new government and prime minister were sworn in. While Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski referred to his country as "North Macedonia" when taking his oath, his statements regarding the Prespa Agreement have not been reassuring, and Greece has warned that the a la carte implementation of Prespa is a violation of the agreement.

Matthew Nimetz, who acted as mediator in the "name" dispute between Athens and Skopje for 25 years, initially on behalf of the United States and later as a special envoy of the United Nations, highlights the significance of proper implementation of the Prespa Agreement, not only for Greece and North Macedonia, but also for regional stability in an interview with Kathimerini.

The decision of the state and political leadership in North Macedonia not to use "the constitutional name of the country in public speeches domestically" constitutes a "flagrant violation" of the Prespa Agreement, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has said.

The safeguards in the Prespa Agreement are very strong, former SYRIZA leader and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras insisted on Monday in a discussion with former PM of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, at an event organized by Tsipras' newly established institute.

Tsipras described the risk of non-implementation of the agreement as "existential" for North Macedonia.

The strict observance of international treaties is a fundamental principle of international law and a self-evident obligation for participation in international organisations", said the Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis, sending a message to Greece's Balkan neighbor North Macedonia on Saturday.

The former prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, who signed the landmark Prespa Agreement in 2018, have called on the leadership in Skopje to respect the terms of the deal. 

Flirting with the opponents of the Prespa Agreement, the Greek government claims to be vindicated by the refusal of the newly elected president in North Macedonia to refer to her country by its constitutional name. Her attitude, the conservatives say, shows that they were right to vote against the Prespa Agreement in 2018. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has once again cautioned Skopje about the potential risk of international isolation due to its failure to fully implement the Prespa Agreement.