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Merkel: Macedonia should join NATO, Germany prepared to assist
14. February 2012. | 22:26
Source: MIA
Germany is a strong supporter of Macedonia at political and economic level and is once again offering its assistance in all spheres. Both countries foster cordial overall relations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and PM Nikola Gruevski concluded Tuesday at their hour-long meeting in Berlin.
Germany is a strong supporter of Macedonia at political and economic level and is once again offering its assistance in all spheres. Both countries foster cordial overall relations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and PM Nikola Gruevski concluded Tuesday at their hour-long meeting in Berlin.
Merkel speaking at a joint press conference said that Germany was advocating for Macedonia's integration to NATO, underlying that progress needed to be made in the name talks with Greece.
Commenting Greece's violation of the Interim Accord, Merkel stated that negotiations aimed at finding solution to the name issue should resume. She urged that justice and international law should be seen as priorities, leaving behind obstruction.
"The rules are clear - undoubtedly the International Court of Justice has reached a verdict that is a success for the Macedonian government. I personally believe that NATO accession is crucial and that name talks with Greece must continue in a bid a resolution to be found," Merkel stressed.
The German Chancellor - who called the country by Macedonia's constitutional name throughout the news conference - said she expected Western Balkan countries to meet required conditions, following the example of Croatia and Slovenia, before joining Euro-Atlantic institutions.
Premier Gruevski said Macedonia's objective was to further develop and advance bilateral relations, thus paving the way toward bolstering countries' cooperation.
Referring to Macedonia's NATO and EU membership, Gruevski informed Merkel on ongoing reforms in Macedonia focused on meeting necessary standards.
"The Republic of Macedonia for three years in a row has gotten a positive report from the European Commission and recommendation for start of EU accession talks and has met all of the conditions and criteria for NATO membership, which was acknowledged by the Alliance at the Bucharest summit in 2008," Gruevski said and thanked Merkel for Germany's endorsement of the NATO open door policy.
Macedonia is a de facto member of NATO, according to him.
"Macedonia as a nation has been contributing wherever NATO has required us to do so. Our troops are taking part in NATO-led mission and our lawmakers have never voted against that. Macedonia is a fifth contributing nation according to the number of troops deployed in Afghanistan and half of country's budget is spent on our efforts in Afghanistan. Still, we are hampered to become a member as a result of a dispute with neighbouring Greece over our name, identity and language," Gruevski said.
The PM added that Macedonia had "reasonable expectations" from the forthcoming NATO summit in Chicago taking into consideration country's contribution to ISAF and the judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"ICJ has ruled that Greece had unjustified motives to block Macedonia's membership to NATO and has said that we do not have to be hindered by such a condition by Greece. Therefore, we believe that country's expectations from the summit in Chicago are reasonable when it comes to respecting international law, acknowledging our efforts. We are making attempts to secure support from countries that strongly believe in fairness and international laws. Germany is undoubtedly one of those countries. Despite the ruling of UN's highest legal body, we remain committed to negotiations with Greece in finding a mutually acceptable solution to the issue," PM Gruevski noted.
Speaking about the economic crisis in Europe, he praised the leading role of Germany and Chancellor Merkel in addressing the challenges as well as their commitment to ensuring conditions for countries to develop.
"Macedonia joins the countries struggling to tackle economic difficulties in order to improve the living standards of the citizens across Europe," the Macedonian Premier stated.
Asked how Greece's economic crisis was reflected in Macedonia, he said that Macedonia despite its negative effects had managed to conclude the first three quarters of 2011 with a growth of 4.3%.
PM Gruevski met with Chancellor Merkel in Berlin for the second time. Their first meeting took place right after Gruevski was elected head of the Macedonian government.
In the course of his visit to Germany, Gruevski on Monday evening met with Macedonians living and working in Berlin at the Macedonian embassy.
Comments (15)
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15. February 2012. 08:12:11
| Ime
5
FYROM and its Macedonian Diaspora (2 Greek words) are pulling every stunt they can think of prior to their NATO non entry in Chicago.
They promote irrendist ideologies against Greece and then they deny doing it.
This is why they will not be allowed in. Their cause is not a just one.
Look for sour faces in May...
15. February 2012. 14:59:05
| Ime
4
NATO membership has nothing to do with Greece-FYROM bilateral disputes. So says the ICJ (and to be perfectly frank, everyone else in the whole world too).
But no, I forgot, this is Old World Europe. If you fight about one thing, you have to fight about everything, right? Get your brother and your cousin and your whole community in on the fight too while you're at it. Nothing like a just cause to stoke the fires of two-century-old nationalist pigheadedness. Old-world politics at its finest.
Insipid self-righteousness. Shame on any party here that insists on dragging the mud of a bilateral dispute onto the stage of interational cooperation. NATO membership for FYROM should be extended on the basis of criteria that is actually relevant to the role and function of NATO.
Who is right or wrong or irredentist or unjust or pulling immoral international political/PR 'stunts', or whatever, in a bilateral naming dispute, is, frankly, neither here nor there.
The ICJ agrees.
15. February 2012. 14:59:05
| Ime
2
Soon we will buy your country, or I should say half as it was once ours for a tub of olives...
Once gypsies alway gypsies.
15. February 2012. 14:59:51
| Ime
4
Macedonia of course deserve membership in NATO and the EU. Greece to stop the delusions of owning Macedonia when we all know that Greece illegally exiled part of Macedonia in 1913 and since then expelled and assimilated the ethnic Macedonian people. Greece is the one who is promoting iredentist ideologies.
15. February 2012. 14:59:05
| Ime
3
greek propaganda as always
15. February 2012. 22:43:27
| Jeff
1
The ICJ ruling was clear: Greece did not have to remove the existing VETO and both countries should return to the negotiating table. FYROM should do so in good faith. Greece is now allowing the name Macedonia to be used as long as there is a geographical qualifier. Greek macedonians and Bulgarian macedonians have as much right to the identity as those from FYROM. The name and identity doeas not belong to FYROM alone. As far as NATO goes, it is supposed to be a defence pact; Greece has everyright to object to the entry of an enemy of the state...no matter how small or weak that state (FYROM) may be.
15. February 2012. 22:43:27
| Ime
6
Greece needs to get its facts on its Finances and its so called Macedonian History. Fabricating history cost a lot of money. They wonder why they are spiraling out of control with debt. The government made them penniless and now brainless. Greeks wake up your government wrote your history books. Keep forcing your way and watch how fast you break.
I think your government forgot to send facts to the Greek schools.
"The Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, the southern part of the of Macedonia was annexed to the Kingdom of Greece"
16. February 2012. 06:57:36
| ???
4
I dont understand why Macedonia even nagotiate with Greece on the name??
I say pull the pin on name talks! It is Macedonia & it should remain as Macedonia & bring back the original flag.
16. February 2012. 09:26:49
| Ime
1
lol at some of these comments. We live in an age of information, in which we can access history books used in Harvard and Cambridge, yet the Bulgarians that now want to be Ancient Macedonians refuse to read up on their history, claiming every book written worldwide by professors and historians are really Greek books and fail to acknowledge nobody agrees witht heir 'version' of history based on the land they now occupy.
16. February 2012. 09:26:49
| Ime
0
Titchener, Frances B.; Moorton, Richard F. (1999). The eye expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman antiquity. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 259. ISBN 978-0-520-21029-5. "On the other hand, the Macedonians are a newly emergent people in search of a past to help legitimize their precarious present as they attempt to establish their singular identity in a Slavic world dominated historically by Serbs and Bulgarians. ... The twentieth-century development of a Macedonian ethnicity, and its recent evolution into independent statehood following the collapse of the Yugoslav state in 1991, has followed a rocky road. In order to survive the vicissitudes of Balkan history and politics, the Macedonians, who have had no history, need one."