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North Macedonia, President Siljanovska Davkova takes office. Von der Leyen warns: ‘respect the name agreement’

by AI | 13.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Reading the oath, the president used the term ‘Macedonia’ and not ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, the new one added to the constitution after the agreement in recent years that ended a nearly thirty-year dispute with Greece.

Flags of the EU and North Macedonia (Photo: MIA Archives)

Skopje (ANSA) – The newly elected Macedonian president, the conservative Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the first female head of state in the former Yugoslav country, took her solemn oath today during a ceremony in the parliament in Skopje. However, while reading the oath, she used the term ‘Macedonia’ instead of ‘Republic of North Macedonia’, the new name included in the constitution following the agreement from recent years that ended a nearly thirty-year dispute with Greece.

Because of this, she was corrected by the speaker of the parliament. Supported by the conservative party Vmro-Dpmne, the main opposition force, Siljanovska Davkova defeated the incumbent president, the social democrat Stevo Pendarovski, in the run-off election last May 8. A critic of agreements with Greece and Bulgaria, which have unlocked the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration path in recent years, the new president is particularly firm in her intent to revert to the old name of ‘Macedonia’, not ruling out a referendum.

“In order for North Macedonia to continue its successful path towards EU membership, it is crucial that it continues on the path of reforms and full respect of its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement,” admonished the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen via X, just hours after congratulating Davkova for becoming the “first female president” of the Balkan country (May 13).