Macedonia: Back us for EU, and we’ll send you fresh tomatoes
Historic deal with Greece to end decades-long name dispute opens possibility of Balkan country’s EU membership.
Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov has offered anyone who supports starting EU accession talks for his country a “fresh” incentive.
“Whoever supports the start of the accession talks for Macedonia with the EU next week, we promise to send you a fresh package of Macedonian tomatoes by post,” Dimitrov
tweeted Sunday, assuring potential backers it is “the tastiest tomato in the world.”
A decades-long dispute with Greece over its name had put Macedonia’s EU and NATO membership bids on hold for years. An agreement reached between Athens and Skopje earlier this month — which would rename the Balkan state the Republic of North Macedonia — now paves the way for Macedonia to begin membership talks.
The EU’s General Affairs Council — a monthly meeting of European affairs ministers from all EU member countries — is expected to discuss enlargement Tuesday ahead of an
European Council summit in Brussels later this week.
EU countries mainly
fall into two camps: those who favor enlargement and those who, like France and the Netherlands, stress security concerns and want to postpone discussions over new members until after Brexit and European Parliament elections next year.
The name deal, which was ratified by Macedonia’s parliament soon after it was signed, still requires the approval of the Greek parliament. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces
significant resistance from the main opposition party, New Democracy, and members of his own Cabinet. Nationalists in both countries remain opposed to the name change.
Authors:
Gabriela Galindo