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90-658: Signed beside the shared Lake Prespa , from which it took its name, and ratified by the parliaments of both countries, the agreement went into force on 12 February 2019, when the two countries notified the UN of the deal's completion, following the ratification of the NATO accession protocol for North Macedonia on 8 February. It replaces the Interim Accord of 1995 and sees the Republic of Macedonia's constitutional name changed to

180-932: A member since 27 March 2020) and 79% positive opinions for accession to the European Union . An October 2020 poll conducted in Greece by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with the KAPA Research, shows that the Prespa Agreement is becoming increasingly accepted in Greece, with the majority (58%) of the Greeks viewing it positively; 25% consider it to be a good agreement, while 33% view it as an agreement with several compromises but necessary (up from 18% and 24% respectively in 2018). The Prespa agreement, which replaced

270-607: A result of this dispute , the young republic's flag was revised into a different rayed solar symbol. On 17 June 2018, the two countries signed the Prespa Agreement , which stipulates the removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in North Macedonia. Eventually, in early July 2019 the government of North Macedonia announced the complete removal of the symbol from all public areas, institutions and monuments in

360-579: A "genocide of the entire nation". On 25 June, the Greek Foreign Ministry informed the EU and NATO that Greece is no longer objecting to Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic accession under the new name. The next day, however, President Ivanov refused to sign the agreement and threatened Macedonian Prime Minister Zaev and the ruling coalition's MPs with imprisonment of at least 5 years for voting in favor of an agreement which, according to Ivanov, puts

450-583: A bid to become the Euro-Atlantic alliance's 30th member. On 30 July, the parliament of Macedonia approved plans to hold a non-binding referendum on changing the country's name that took place on 30 September. 91% of voters voted in favour with a 37% turnout, but the referendum was not carried because of a constitutional requirement for a 50% turnout. Total turnout for the referendum was at 666,344 and of those some 260,000 were ethnic Albanian voters of Macedonia. The government intended to push forward with

540-472: A blue background became commonly used as an official emblem of the three administrative regions, the prefectures and the municipalities of Greek Macedonia. It was used in official contexts on the reverse of the Greek 100 drachmas coin of 1990–2001, The symbol is placed on the bottom left corner of the Greek driving license, and on Greek passports , it forms the watermark image across pages 22 and 23. It

630-557: A day prior to the ratification in the Hellenic Parliament , hundreds of scholars, professors, writers and artists from all over Greece signed petitions in support of the Prespa agreement. In a February 2019 survey, a public opinion poll done for Sitel TV channel in North Macedonia showed 44.6% of respondents were positive about the Prespa agreement, while 45.6% were negative toward the accord. A majority, 59.5%, expressed that

720-409: A decorative element in ancient Greek art in general and that it cannot be said to represent either a "royal" or "national" emblem of Macedon exclusively. The symbol was introduced in Greece as popular imagery from the mid-1980s, and after 1991, increasingly so in many new contexts in Greece. The Vergina Sun was widely adopted by Greek Macedonians as a symbol of Greek Macedonia . The Vergina Sun on

810-475: A footnote detailing the constitutional and legal situation in place of the president's signature. The withdrawal of the Greek veto resulted in the European Union approving on 27 June the start of accession talks with the Republic of Macedonia , to begin the next year conditional on the implementation of the Prespa agreement and the change of the nation's constitutional name to Republic of North Macedonia. On 11 July, NATO invited Macedonia to start accession talks in

900-587: A strategic partnership between the Parties . Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, use of the name "Macedonia" was disputed between the Southeastern European countries of Greece and the then-Republic of Macedonia. The dispute arose from the ambiguity in nomenclature between the former Yugoslav republic, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia , and the ancient kingdom of Macedon . Citing historical and irredentist concerns, Greece opposed

990-647: A total of 80 MPs voted in favour of the constitutional changes. On 30 October, the Skopje Public Prosecutor's Office opened a case against Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov for his refusal to fulfill his constitutional obligations in signing the Prespa agreement after it was ratified by the Macedonian Parliament. On 3 December 2018, Macedonia's Parliament approved a draft constitutional amendment, with 67 lawmakers voting in favour, 23 voting against and 4 abstaining. A simple majority

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1080-551: Is Greek and has been stolen." Nationalists on both sides subsequently associated the symbol with the (much later) Star of Bethlehem and have argued that their respective communities have used the symbol for sacred purposes before the Vergina discovery. Speaking on the BBC World Service 's The World Today programme, archaeologist Bajana Mojsov from the Republic of Macedonia said that "the symbolic weight attached to

1170-701: Is a Greek professional football club based in Neapoli , on ASF ALEXANDRIAS in Imathia , on Makedonikos Foufas F.C. in Kozani , on MAS VERGINA , on Megas Alexandros BC in Leptokarya and on VERGINA BC in Kalamaria . A seven-pointed sun is the logo of Thessaloniki-based political party EPOS . A sixteen-pointed sun is the logo of Athens-based political party Patriotic Union ( Greek : Πατριωτική Ένωση ). It

1260-423: Is also home to the freshwater sponge Spongilla prespensis North Macedonia's part of the lake has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of ferruginous ducks , tufted ducks , Dalmatian pelicans and pygmy cormorants . The Albanian part of the lake is a separate but corresponding IBA for the same reason, as is the Greek southern section of

1350-678: Is also used by organisations of the Greek Macedonian diaspora , such as the Pan-Macedonian Association, as well as by numerous commercial enterprises and in Greek Macedonian demonstrations . In 2023, it was reported that the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece ruled that a political party may not use the symbol as a party emblem. In North Macedonia, the municipality of Makedonska Kamenica still displays it on its municipal flag. A similar choice

1440-550: Is the emblem of the 3rd Greek Squadron of Control and Warning Station, of Greek Units for the Reinstatement of Order , the Greek First Army , the 193 Squadron of Multiple Missile Launchers and the 34th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. In February 1993 the Greek parliament passed a bill designating the Vergina Sun as an official Greek national symbol. In July 1995, Greece lodged a claim for trademark protection of

1530-605: The EU 's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini , and the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn , among others. After the ceremony, Tsipras, along with his Macedonian counterpart, crossed over the border to the Macedonian side of Lake Prespa for lunch at the village of Oteševo . The symbolic move marked

1620-578: The Macedonian language in the United Nations , noting that it is within the group of South Slavic languages , and that the nationality of the country will be called Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia. Also, there is an explicit clarification that the citizens of the country are not related to the ancient Hellenic civilization that inhabited the northern regions of modern-day Greece. Specifically, Article 7 mentions that both countries acknowledge that their respective understanding of

1710-627: The Republic of Macedonia on the path towards NATO membership. Additionally, the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the agreement as being "fantastic news". "The agreement once and for always confirms and strengthens the Macedonian ethnic and cultural identity , the Macedonian language , the Macedonian nationality . It guarantees the security of the country and provides a secure future for

1800-568: The Republic of North Macedonia erga omnes . The Prespa Agreement is the short, informal name for the agreement, named after the place where it was signed, Lake Prespa . Its full name is Final Agreement for the settlement of the differences as described in the United Nations Security Council resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993), the termination of the Interim Accord of 1995, and the establishment of

1890-759: The Skopje 2014 program, will be given new inscriptions with clarifications that they symbolize the Ancient Greek period and are "honouring Greek-Macedonian friendship". On 5 July 2018, the Prespa agreement was ratified by the Macedonian parliament with 69 MPs voting in favor of it. However, the Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov vetoed the bill. Under the Macedonian Constitution, if the Parliament readopts

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1980-565: The "decisive factor". In exile in Hungary, the fugitive former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has condemned the Prespa agreement, stating that Zaev "scammed" and "tricked" the Macedonian people over the country's name change, and that the Greek politicians imposed an unfavourable deal upon North Macedonia that outlines exclusive claims over "antique history" by Greece. On 13 January 2019, Greece Defence Minister Panos Kammenos and his Independent Greeks party quit Greece's ruling coalition over

2070-493: The 1980s, and became commonly used as an official emblem in the Greek region of Macedonia , and by other Greek state entities during the 1990s. The Vergina Sun symbol was the subject in a controversy in the first half of 1990s between Greece and the newly independent Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia ), which adopted it as a symbol of Macedonian nationalism and depicted it on its national flag . Eventually, in 1995 and as

2160-544: The European Union, and Jean-Claude Juncker of the EU's Commission, USA's and Germany's foreign ministers, Michael Pompeo and Heiko Maas respectively, Romania's EU minister George Ciamba whose country held EU presidency, as well as NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg, welcomed positively the ratification of the deal. Furthermore, the Republic of Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, in his congratulatory message to his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, whom he called "a friend", described

2250-445: The Greek news coverage showed that several news stories tried to undermine the country's then-government. In North Macedonia, the majority of public perception was also against the deal but not to the same extent as the Greek public. According to polls conducted by Sitel TV, 45% of the public stated they felt negatively towards the deal while 44% said they felt positively towards it. Around half (50.5%) of those surveyed said they thought

2340-490: The Greek territory, carrying an embankment with a road connecting the village of Psarades . A short stretch of a canal connects the lakes on the western side of the isthmus. In Classical times, the Prespa region formed part of ancient Lynkestis , and the lakes were called Little and Great Brygeis. In the 10th century, the Tsar Samuil built the fortress and church of St. Achillius on an island called Agios Achillios in

2430-472: The Greeks described it as such in correspondence with Vance. The Liberal Party (LP) of the Republic of Macedonia, in November 2013, via its president Ivon Velickovski, proposed a draft law to ban the use of the Vergina Sun for civil purposes within the Republic of Macedonia, as "a positive step that will result in the promotion of good neighborly relations between Macedonia and Greece". The draft law required

2520-571: The Interim Accord of 1995, was signed on 17 June 2018 in a high-level ceremony at the Greek border village of Psarades on Lake Prespa , by the two foreign ministers Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias and in the presence of the respective prime Ministers, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras . The meeting was attended by the UN 's Special Representative Matthew Nimetz , the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo ,

2610-524: The Lake Prespa Ramsar site, and was eventually included on 3 July 2013. In 2018, Great Prespa Lake was the setting for the signing of the Prespa Agreement , intended to resolve the Macedonia naming dispute by renaming the Republic of Macedonia to North Macedonia . The agreement was signed on 17 June 2018 in a high-level ceremony at the Greek border village of Psarades on the lake, by

2700-640: The Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece. They are the highest tectonic lakes in the Balkans , at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft). The area contains three national parks: Galičica National Park in North Macedonia, Prespa National Park in Albania, and Prespa National Park in Greece. The largest town in the region is Resen in North Macedonia. In 2014, Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve between Albania and North Macedonia

2790-622: The Macedonian consul in Toronto, Canada, Jovica Palashevski, sparked a diplomatic incident between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece, when he delivered a speech against the backdrop of an irredentist map of Greater Macedonia and a red Vergina Sun flag. After strong Greek protests, the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Macedonia condemned the incident and recalled its diplomat back to Skopje for consultations. Toni Deskoski, Macedonian professor of International Law and member of

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2880-619: The New Democracy party, had argued in this connection that the Greek foreign minister (and hence the government of Syriza ) had no authority to sign the agreement, based on international legal arguments that were responded to by legal scholars. Following his departure as Greek foreign minister, Kotzias stated in October 2018 that key reasons for the Prespa agreement were to bring stability to the Balkans and to stop Turkish influence within

2970-669: The Prespa Agreement and settling the naming dispute between the two nations, including the Peace Prize of Westphalia, the Ewald von Kleist Award and the Hessian Peace Prize. Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia , Albania and Greece . It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus : the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and

3060-531: The Prespa agreement by the Greek Parliament , over 60,000 protesters (according to police; 600,000, according to organizers) from all over the country arrived in Athens to demand the rejection of the agreement; some of these protests had become violent, with the police required to use tear gas to disperse the groups. During the last week, public opinion poll showed that over 65% of the people were against

3150-726: The Prespa agreement with 153 votes in favor and 146 votes against, with 1 abstention. Shortly after the ratification of the deal, Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos signed, in the Greek Parliament, the enacted law of the Prespa Agreement. The international community, including the Prime Ministers Theresa May of United Kingdom, Justin Trudeau of Canada, Boyko Borisov of Bulgaria and Edi Rama of Albania, Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France, Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo, Donald Tusk of

3240-417: The Prespa agreement, potentially leaving the governing coalition without a workable majority in parliament. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras then held a confidence vote on 16 January and survived 151–148, with one lawmaker absent. Tsipras survived the vote with 145 of his Radical Left Syriza party and with 6 MPs who were either Independents or Independent Greeks (ANEL) . In the days prior to the ratification of

3330-482: The Prespa ceremony, had his parliamentary vehicle set on fire at Bitola by unidentified perpetrators. In Greece, Golden Dawn (GD) , a far-right party, and the Communist Party of Greece (CPG) , a far-left party, opposed the agreement, with a Golden Dawn MP, Konstantinos Barbarousis , calling for military rule and firing squads to execute politicians responsible for the deal. As a result, Barbarousis

3420-583: The Republic of Macedonia as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (sometimes abbreviated as "FYROM"). The agreement provides that the Republic of Macedonia takes the name of Republic of North Macedonia ( Macedonian : Република Северна Македонија , romanized :  Republika Severna Makedonija ; Greek : Δημοκρατία της Βόρειας Μακεδονίας ). This new name is to be used for all purposes ( erga omnes ), that is, domestically, in all bilateral relations and in all regional and international organizations and institutions. The deal includes recognition of

3510-493: The Republic of Macedonia in a subordinate position to a foreign state. "I do not accept the constitutional change aimed at changing the constitutional name [of the country]. I do not accept ideas or proposals which would endanger Macedonia's national identity , the individuality of the Macedonian nation , the Macedonian language and the Macedonian model of coexistence. In the presidential election, 534,910 citizens voted in favor of this electoral program. The agreement goes beyond

3600-564: The Republic of Macedonia of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture, such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great . Moreover, Greece claimed that the Republic of Macedonia was promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia , which involves territorial claims on Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia. Prior to the Prespa agreement, international organizations provisionally referenced

3690-495: The Republic of Macedonia since it declared independence in 1991. Only 11 native fish species are known from the lake. Of these 9 of these are endemic : Alburnoides prespensis , Alburnus belvica , Barbus prespensis , Chondrostoma prespense , Cobitis meridionalis , Pelasgus prespensis , Rutilus prespensis , Salmo peristericus and Squalius prespensis ; the additional two are Anguilla anguilla (European eel) and Cyprinus carpio (European carp). The lake

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3780-407: The Republic of Macedonia to a state of subservience or dependence on another state is punishable by imprisonment of at least five years". The legalization of this agreement creates legal consequences that are the basis for committing a crime." Because the constitution required the president to sign, the ratified agreement was allowed to be officially published in the country's official gazette with

3870-611: The Small Prespa Lake, on the Greek side of the border. The biggest island in the Great Prespa Lake, within North Macedonia, is called Golem Grad ("Large Town"), and Snake Island (Zmiski Ostrov). The other island Mal Grad ("Small Town", in Albania) is the site of a ruined 14th century monastery dedicated to St. Peter . Today, both islands are uninhabited. Because Great Prespa Lake sits in limestone country about 150m above Lake Ohrid , which lies only about 10 km (6 miles) to

3960-693: The Sun god ( Helios ), whose role as a patron deity of the Argead dynasty might be implied by a story about Perdiccas I of Macedon narrated by Herodotus (8.137). In the early 1980s, following the discovery of the larnax, there was some debate as to whether the symbol should be considered the "royal emblem" of the Argeads specifically. Αs Eugene Borza (1982) pointed out, the symbol was widely used in Hellenistic-era art, and Adams (1983) emphasized its use as

4050-509: The Vergina Star was archaeologically absurd – but politically inevitable," arguing: The star of Vergina applies to the 3rd century BC northern Greece – a very different situation, not related to the 21st century AD. I think it's modern politics, and we're witnessing the use of an archaeological symbol for history that it's really not related to. At the same time, Demetrius Floudas, Senior Associate at Hughes Hall, Cambridge , and one of

4140-659: The Vergina Sun as an official state emblem under Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In North Macedonia , the symbol is known as Sun of Kutleš ( Macedonian : Сонце од Кутлеш ). In 1992, Todor Petrov proposed the Vergina Sun as the national symbol of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia). The symbol

4230-593: The accession protocol with North Macedonia. On 8 June 2021, the President of the United States , Joseph Biden , signed the Executive Order 14033 for imposing economic sanctions and travel bans to any individuals who may try to undermine the Prespa Agreement. Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev received jointly a number of awards for their roles as the prime ministers of their respective states in reaching

4320-706: The agency of the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science responsible for administering the intellectual property rights in Australia , denied the World Macedonian Congress the right of registering and using the Vergina Sun on its trademark, citing the Paris Convention which recognizes the emblem as a national symbol of Greece. An eight-pointed version of the Vergina Sun has been used by some members of

4410-466: The agreement stipulates the removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in the Republic of North Macedonia and the formation of a committee for the review of school textbooks and maps in both countries for the removal of irredentist content and to align them with UNESCO and Council of Europe standards. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced on 12 June 2018 that an agreement had been reached with his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev on

4500-410: The agreement would positively impact relations between both countries and 57.7% felt that the two states would implement the accord. Half of respondents, 50.5%, stated that the Macedonian government did well in negotiations with Greece and 40.7% disagreed that it did. Survey participants (49.2%) felt that the agreement would make travel into Greece easier. On 25 January 2019, Greece's Parliament approved

4590-568: The citizens of the Republic of Macedonia", Zaev said. The domestic communities reacted more negatively to the agreement. In Macedonia, the President of the Republic , Gjorge Ivanov , declared that he would not sign the agreement, calling it "disastrous". Additionally, VMRO-DPMNE , the main conservative party at the time, also opposed the agreement, and pledged to organize public protests against it. In Macedonia, protests went violent at Skopje , and Macedonian SDSM MP Hari Lokvenec, who attended

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4680-501: The constitutional changes for renaming the country to North Macedonia with a two-thirds parliamentary majority (81 MPs). The international community, NATO and European Union leaders, including Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz , as well as heads of neighboring states, congratulated the Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The British Prime Minister Theresa May described

4770-475: The country, except archeological sites. Early representations of the symbol go back to at least the 16th century BC, with hoplites depicted as bearing sixteen-pointed and eight-pointed sunburst symbols on their shields and armor, and the same symbols being represented on coins from both island and mainland Greece from at least the 5th century BC. The Iliad describes the first panoply of Achilles as having star motifs. During his excavations at Vergina ,

4860-642: The dispute, "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side". The agreement was signed at Lake Prespa , a body of water which forms a partial common border between the Republic of North Macedonia, Greece and Albania . The international community reacted positively to the Prespa agreement, with the media dubbing it as "historic". The European Union welcomed it, with the European Council President Donald Tusk tweeting his "sincere congratulations" to Tsipras and Zaev . "I am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks to you,

4950-425: The first visit of a Greek prime minister in the Republic of Macedonia since it declared independence in 1991. On 13 June 2018, Zaev said that North Macedonia is changing the license plates of its vehicles from MK to NMK to reflect the country's new name. The Macedonian government announced that the statues of Alexander the Great , Philip II of Macedon , and Olympias of Epirus , which were raised as part of

5040-554: The government in Skopje did a good job during the negotiations with Greece against 40.7% who said it did not. A June 2020 poll in North Macedonia, conducted by the National Democratic Institute , showed that 58% of Macedonians support the Prespa agreement and that there is also strong public support for the country's Euro-Atlantic direction, with 74% positive opinions for NATO (of which North Macedonia has been

5130-438: The impossible is becoming possible," he said. EU Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini and commissioner Johannes Hahn also issued a joint statement congratulating the two prime ministers "in reaching this historic agreement between their countries, which contributes to the transformation of the entire region of Southeast Europe ." NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the agreement, stating that it will set

5220-441: The lake. Vergina Sun The Vergina Sun ( Greek : Ήλιος της Βεργίνας , romanized :  Ilios tis Vergínas , lit.   'Sun of Vergina'), also known as the Star of Vergina , Vergina Star or Argead Star , is a rayed solar symbol first appearing in ancient Greek art of the period between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC. The Vergina Sun proper has sixteen triangular rays, while comparable symbols of

5310-402: The law with a majority of votes from the total number of MPs, the president is obliged to sign it into law. On 20 June, the Prespa agreement was once again ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia with 69 of the total 120 MPs voting in favor of it. Opposition party VMRO-DPMNE boycotted the parliamentary session and declared the Prespa treaty as a "genocide of the legal state" and

5400-413: The leading analysts of the Macedonia naming dispute, claimed that: what prompted the adoption of the Vergina Star was a desire from Skopje's part to advance maximalist objectives in order to barter with them for other concessions at the negotiating table when the time comes. Although the authorities in Skopje denied any ulterior motives, the flag became a major issue in the wider political dispute between

5490-416: The legal team that represented the Republic of Macedonia in the naming dispute with Greece before the International Court of Justice in the Hague for violation of the Interim Accord, argues that the Vergina Sun is not a Macedonian symbol but it is a Greek symbol that is used by Macedonians in the nationalist context of Macedonism and that the Macedonians need to get rid of it. Outside of official usage,

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5580-433: The local population subsequently emigrated to escape endemic poverty and political strife. The region remained little developed until the 1970s, when it began to be promoted as a tourist destination. With an abundance of rare fauna and flora, the area was declared a Transnational Park in 2000. In 1999 the Society for the Protection of Prespa received the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award for its conservation efforts regarding

5670-409: The lost area either drying out or converted into swampland. The Great Prespa also saw its surface area decrease by seven percent and its volume reduced by half from 1984 to 2020. For many years, the Greek part of the Prespa Lakes region was an underpopulated, military sensitive area which required special permission for outsiders to visit. It saw fierce fighting during the Greek Civil War and much of

5760-407: The name change. On 15 October 2018, the parliament of Macedonia began debating the name change. The proposal for the constitutional reform requires the vote of 80 MPs, i.e. two-thirds of the 120-seat parliament. On 16 October, US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell sent a letter to VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski , in which he expresses the disappointment of the United States with

5850-432: The positions of the leadership, including him personally, and asks to "set aside partisan interests" and work to get the name change approved. Mickoski expressed his hope that the Republic of Macedonia will be very soon a part of the NATO and EU families, "but proud and dignified, not humiliated, disfigured and disgraced." On 19 October the parliament voted to start the process of renaming the country "North Macedonia", after

5940-462: The ratification as a "historic victory" which "ends a long-standing diplomatic conflict between Athens and Skopje". Russia, on the other hand, opposed the Prespa Agreement citing the low turnout in the non-binding 2018 referendum on changing the country's name . Hungary, which gave asylum to fugitive former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski , a staunch critic of the agreement, also lobbied against it. On 6 February 2019, NATO's 29 members signed

6030-404: The ratification of the Prespa agreement, whereas many popular Greek artists (S. Xarhakos, V. Papakonstantinou J. Kotsiras etc.) agreed that a referendum should have been held. On 19 January, Mikis Theodorakis' editorial was published in which he characterized the ratification of the agreement from Greek MPs as a "crime", demanding a referendum in Greece on the agreement as well. On 23 January, just

6120-524: The region. In Greece, the deeply unpopular agreement had an instant negative impact on Tsipras's chances of staying in power. According to separate polls conducted by Marc and Ekathimerini, between 65% and 68% of Greeks were against the Prespes deal and what was contained within it. There were large public demonstrations in 2018 and 2019 against the Prespes deal in Athens and Thessaloniki that lasted days. There were also vast student sit-ins which affected 210 schools in Greek Central Macedonia alone. Despite

6210-437: The same period variously have sixteen, twelve, eight or (rarely) six rays. The name "Vergina Sun" became widely used after the archaeological excavations in and around the small town of Vergina , in northern Greece , during the late 1970s. In older references, the name "Argead Star" or "Star of the Argeadai" is used for the Sun as the possible royal symbol of the Argead dynasty of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia . There it

6300-414: The scope of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993), since it refers to the "difference in the name of the State" and not to the "disputes" to which the agreement refers", Ivanov said, adding that "This agreement brings the Republic of Macedonia to subordination from another country, namely the Republic of Greece. According to Article 308 of the Penal Code, "a citizen who brings

6390-440: The site of the ancient Macedonian capital of Aegae , the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos found the symbol on the coffin ( Golden Larnax ) believed to belong to Philip II of Macedon , father of Alexander the Great . The "sunburst" symbol was already well known as a symbol used both by the Macedonian royal dynasty (e.g. on coins), as well as being present in the Hellenistic civilization more generally. The symbol might represent

6480-411: The south, the Little Prespa Lake (Greek: Μικρή Πρέσπα, Mikri Prespa ; Albanian: Prespa e Vogël ; Macedonian: Мало Преспанско Езеро) has the total surface area of 46.8 km (18.07 sq mi), most of it in Greece, with the westernmost tip (4.3 km (1.66 sq mi)) in Albania. The two lakes are separated by a 4-kilometre-long (2.5 mi) and 500-metre-wide (550 yd) isthmus on

6570-590: The stateless Balkan ethnic group of the Aromanians . According to University of Warwick professor Tom Winnifrith, some houses in Kruševo ( Aromanian : Crushuva ), a town in North Macedonia with a substantial Aromanian population, use star patterns resembling the Vergina Sun. Some Aromanians claim heritage from the Ancient Macedonians. On 17 June 2018, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia signed

6660-746: The symbol was also used in the logo of the Thessaloniki-based Makedonia television station, and of the former Bank of Macedonia-Thrace. An eight-point sun is the logo of Thessaloniki International Film Festival and part of the logo of Greek Parliament party Greek Solution . A six-pointed Vergina sun is the logo of the Thessaloniki-based Vergina television station, it also appears on Municipality of Chalkidona coat of arms in Thessaloniki region unit, on Makedonikos FC ( Greek : Μακεδονικός ) logo which

6750-528: The terms "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" refers to a different historical context and cultural heritage. When reference is made to Greece, these terms denote the area and people of its northern region , as well as the Hellenic civilization , history and culture of that region. When reference is made to the Republic of North Macedonia, these terms denote its territory, language and people , with their own, distinctly different, history and culture. Additionally,

6840-488: The two countries of the early 1990s (see Foreign relations of North Macedonia ). Greek objections led to the flag being banned from use in a variety of places, including the United Nations , the Olympic Games and offices of the Republic of Macedonia in the United States and Australia . The Republic of Macedonia lodged an objection against Greece's registration of the symbol with WIPO in October 1995. The dispute

6930-426: The two foreign ministers Nikola Dimitrov (of the Republic of Macedonia) and Nikos Kotzias (of Greece ) and in the presence of the respective prime ministers, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras . After the ceremony, Tsipras and Zaev crossed over the border to North Macedonia's side of the lake for lunch at the village of Oteševo , in a highly symbolic move that marked the first time a Greek prime minister ever entered

7020-623: The uproar, the protesters were accused of having links with the far-right/fascists. In response, famous composer and leftist Mikis Theodorakis , who was also against the Prespes deal, called the Syriza government 'left-wing fascists'. During the ratification of the Prespes deal (2018-19), fake news promoted a possible territorial loss of Greek Macedonia and a sense of victimization and dehumanization that demanded emergency actions to protect Greece from North Macedonia and its Greek assistants. Furthermore,

7110-578: The use of the WIPO-protected Greek symbol to be banned in the Macedonian president's office, events organized under state administration, public Macedonian institutions or political parties, NGOs, media, as well as individuals in the Republic of Macedonia. The draft however was rejected in December 2013 by the majority of the Macedonian Parliament, which at the time was controlled by the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party. In early August 2017,

7200-486: The use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier like "Northern" or "Upper" for use "by all... and for all purposes". Approximately two million ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians who typically view themselves as being unrelated to the ethnic Macedonians . Consequently, Greece further objected to the use of the term "Macedonian" for the neighboring country's largest ethnic group and its language. Greece further accused

7290-564: The vote as a "historic moment", while the Kosovar President Hashim Thaçi expressed his hope that the Prespa Agreement, which resolved the Macedonia naming dispute, can be used as a "model" for resolving Kosovo 's dispute with Serbia as well. Albanian President Ilir Meta congratulated the name change and Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati hailed the vote by tweeting that Albanian political parties were

7380-600: The west, the only outlets for its waters are through underground channels in the karst and emerge from springs which feed streams running into Lake Ohrid. In the 1970s, the communist regime in Albania diverted the Devoll River feeding the Little Prespa to irrigate agricultural lands in the Korçë area, contributing to the depletion of the lake's surface area from 450 hectares to at least 20 hectares by 2024, with

7470-487: Was added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The Great Prespa Lake ( Macedonian : Преспанско Езеро , Prespansko Ezero , Albanian : Liqeni i Prespës së Madhe , Greek : Μεγάλη Πρέσπα , Megáli Préspa ) has the total surface of 259 km (100.00 sq mi). The largest part of it, 176.3 km (68.07 sq mi) belongs to North Macedonia; 46.3 km (17.88 sq mi) to Albania; and 36.4 km (14.05 sq mi) to Greece. To

7560-421: Was adopted by the newly independent country in the same year, displaying it on its new flag. This lasted until 1995, when the Republic of Macedonia was forced to modify its flag by Greece. The decision in the Republic of Macedonia caused controversy both within the republic and outside it in its relations with Greece. The republic's large Albanian minority complained that it was an ethnic Macedonian symbol and

7650-417: Was depicted on a golden larnax found in a 4th-century BC royal tomb belonging to either Philip II or Philip III of Macedon, the father and half-brother of Alexander the Great , respectively. Tentatively interpreted as the historical royal symbol of ancient Macedonia, rather than just a generic decorative element in ancient Greek art , the Vergina Sun came into popular use among Macedonian Greeks since

7740-440: Was expelled from his party, and a warrant was issued for his arrest for high treason . He fled using his parliamentary vehicle but eventually was found and arrested. Additionally, the conservative New Democracy party filed a motion of no-confidence against Tsipras in parliament because of the name deal, which was rejected two days later with a simple parliamentary majority; 153 against it, 127 for. Kyriakos Mitsotakis , leader of

7830-448: Was made by the municipality of Liqenas in neighbouring Albania , which has a Macedonian population. The symbol is also used by other ethnic Macedonian minority groups in neighbouring countries and by diaspora organisations. In Canada, a Macedonian advocacy group called United Macedonians Organization uses a stylized version of the sun as part of its logo and makes extensive use of the red Vergina Sun flag. In 2018, IP Australia ,

7920-409: Was needed at this stage. After some political wrangling over constitutional issues related to the multi-ethnic makeup of the state, all Albanian political parties of Macedonia voted in favour of the name change along with the governing Social-Democrats and some members of the opposition. On 11 January 2019, the Macedonian Parliament completed the legal implementation of the Prespa Agreement by approving

8010-543: Was not suitable for a multi-ethnic state. Greek opposition was even more vehement. The Greek government and many Greek people, especially Greek Macedonians, saw it as the misappropriation of a Hellenic symbol and a direct claim on the legacy of Philip II. The dispute was exacerbated by clauses in the Republic of Macedonia's constitution that Greeks saw as a territorial claim on the Greek region of Macedonia . A Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman said in January 1995 that "the symbol

8100-495: Was partially resolved under a compromise brokered by Cyrus Vance at the United Nations. The symbol was removed from the flag of the Republic of Macedonia as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic and economic relations between the two sides, and it was replaced by a stylised yellow sun with eight widening beams on red ground. The symbol was not referred to as the "Star of Vergina" in the agreement as signed, although

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