Macedonia and Greece End Name Argument
Two Balkan states, Greece and Macedonia , have ended their 27-year long argument about the official name of the former Yugoslav republic that became independent in 1991. Greek parliament has approved of the country being called the Republic of North Macedonia.
Up to now, Greece has rejected the name of Macedonia because there is a Greek province with the same name. Since Macedonia won its freedom, Greece has been against the country's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union.
The Greek and Northern Macedonian Prime Ministers called it a historic day, and praise for the deal also came from EU officials.
Many inhabitants of the Greek province of Macedonia, however, reject the agreement. They are afraid that Northern Macedonia may claim the area on which Alexander the Great was born.
In the agreement, both countries promise to respect each other's territory and normalize their political and economical relationship.
Related Topics
Words
- Alexander the Great = king of Macedonia who took control of Greece, Egypt and other countries as far east as India . He is thought to be one of the greatest military leaders in history
- ambition = the strong will to achieve something
- approve = to accept a plan
- argument = here: quarrel between two countries
- claim = to say that something belongs to you
- deal = agreement
- former = in the past
- independent = free and not governed or controlled by another country
- inhabitant = person who lives in a country
- normalize = to behave in a normal way towards each other
- official = person who is in a high position in an organisation
- praise = to say that something is good and that you admire it
- reject = to be against something
- respect = here: not to claim each other's land
- territory = land