Skopje officials seek timeframe for settling the name dispute with Greece

In a bid to end the stalemate over Macedonia’s name, Macedonia is proposing a time-frame to Greece to settle the dispute that is blocking the country’s accession to the EU and NATO.

Macedonia is proposing that at the December 9 EU Council of Ministers meeting, Greece allows Macedonia’s EU accession talks to get underway.

Greece has been blocking a start to the talks for three years owing to the unresolved name issue.

In exchange, as soon as accession talks begin, during the so-called screening process, Macedonia would agree to a strict time frame to settle the name dispute.