17.07.08: Macedonia's EU bid in danger as Greece row escalates
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Saved by 1 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-07-18
- Wolfgangschumann on 2008-07-18 - Tags enlargement , enlargementpolicymemberstates , greece , enlargementpolicy_candidates , macedonia , westernbalkans
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Nikola Gruevski, Macedonia's prime minister, has infuriated Greece by asking the EU member to recognise its Macedonian minority. But this confrontational strategy could spell trouble for the small Balkan state as France, which currently holds the EU Presidency, has made plain that it stands beside Greece in the dispute
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Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski sent a letter to his Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis on 14 July, asking for recognition of the Macedonian minority in Greece and the return of property to Macedonian refugees who were forced to flee during the 1946-1949 Greek civil wa
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In addition, Gruevski urged Athens to recognise the existence of the Macedonian minority on its territory and grant them the right to education in their own language as well as to foster their culture and traditions.
Greece immediately reacted. In response to Gruevski's letter, Greek Foreigh Minister Dora Bakoyiannis said on Tuesday that the extreme nationalism from Skopje "sows the wind, but reaps whirlwind".
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