The Greek Parliament has approved the agreement for the renaming of Macedonia. Accordingly, the neighbouring country should be called in the future Republic of North Macedonia. the

The Greek Parliament has approved on Friday the agreement on the Overcoming of the name dispute to Macedonia’s name. Accordingly, the neighbouring country should be called in the future Republic of North Macedonia.

In the vote on Friday voted the deputies of the government party of Alexis Tsipras, as well as several independent MPs between the governments of both countries negotiated an agreement. 153 deputies voted for the agreement. 146 voted against it. There was one abstention.

the agreement is expected to be a decades-long name dispute between Greece and Macedonia. 17. June 2018, the two countries have signed the so-called Prespa-contract. The Parliament in Skopje approved the agreement and, therefore, a renaming of the country already. In return, consented, Greece, its resistance against the accession of Macedonia to Nato and potentially to the EU.

protest, However, in both countries, nationalists are against the agreement. In Greece, it came on Thursday, massive protests, in which tens of people were arrested. The police used tear gas and stun grenades.

the reason for the name dispute is that there is in the North of Greece also has a province with the name Macedonia. It is directly adjacent to the internationally as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to bezeichete “”. Greece feared territorial claims of the neighbouring country, in this province. The dispute lasted ever since the Republic of Macedonia in 1991 declared its independence from Yugoslavia.

The Federal government has welcomed the adoption of the agreement. Government spokesman Steffen Seibert wrote on Twitter: “A good day for Athens, Skopje and the whole Region!”

“you had a fantasy, you took the risk, they were willing to sacrifice their own interests for the common good,” wrote EU great-grandson Donald Tusk on Twitter. “Zoran, Alexis – well done!”, he wrote to the Greek government, its leader, Alexis Tsipras, and his Macedonian colleague, Zoran Zaev.

“I congratulate my friend, Alexis Tsipras, together we have achieved with our people a historic victory,” wrote Zaev on his Facebook page. “It is the agreement to live, to eternal peace and progress in the Balkans and in Europe.”