No accession talks for Macedonia without resolving name row, Czech official warns
24/12/2008
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Macedonia won't be able to start accession talks with the EU until it resolves its name dispute with Greece, Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra warned on Tuesday (December 23rd). "The chances for progress without resolution of the name issue are slim. The Czech Republic changed its name three times in four years in the early 1990s, but that made no impact on our identity or our international position," said Vondra, whose country assumes the rotating EU presidency on January 1st. He was responding to Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, who remarked on Monday that Skopje could expect a date to start accession talks once it meets the criteria. (Vecer - 24/12/08; Makfax, A1 - 23/12/08)