Defiantly ignoring not only Greece’s warnings but also the decisions of the European Union, the prime minister of Northern Macedonia Hristijan Mitskoski, coming to the EU-Western Balkans Summit, continued the systematic violations of the Prespa Agreement.

“We are here in Brussels today to send a message that “Macedonian citizens” and “Macedonia” as a country deserve a place together with the other 27 member states of the European Union and that our place is exactly here at the same table with them, because we share the same values and we fight for the same values and we believe in those values, which is to be united in diversity,” he said.

Athens has repeatedly and at every level warned that failure to comply with the provisions of the Prespes Agreement will have consequences not only for bilateral relations but also for North Macedonia’s European course, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, coming to the summit, stressed the need to comply with the European acquis. Mitsotakis, however, while making a special reference to supporting the European perspective of Serbia and Albania, avoided mentioning North Macedonia.

The EU’s access negotiations with North Macedonia have been blocked by Bulgaria, as Skopje and the VMRO-DPMNE government refuse to implement the bilateral agreement to include a reference to a Bulgarian minority in the constitution.

The EU Council yesterday, in conclusions adopted by the Foreign Ministers on enlargement, have a specific reference to the obligation of North Macedonia to honour the commitments it has made through international agreements, stating “The Council recalls that it is important to achieve tangible results and to implement in good faith bilateral agreements, including the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourhood and Cooperation with Bulgaria in accordance with the negotiating framework.”

Mitskoski himself repeatedly uses the term “Macedonia” and “Macedonians” and has even invoked Article 7 of the Prespa Agreement. However, the fact that he represents a state institution at an EU summit to which he has been invited, obliges him, in accordance with the Prespa Agreement, to refer only to the “Republic of North Macedonia” and to citizens of “North Macedonia”, as any other reference is a violation of the letter and spirit of the Agreement.