EU Dangles Balkan Expansion Talks to Boost Crucial Name Deal
- Albania, Republic of Macedonia may start talks next year
- Republic of Macedonia leader attempts to block name deal
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The European Union said it may start membership talks with Albania and the Republic of Macedonia as soon as next year, endorsing a deal over the former Yugoslav nation’s new name that its president attempted to block.
Giving a date for the start of negotiations may boost Prime Minister Zoran Zaev’s push to complete a deal with Greece to rename the state the Republic of North Macedonia, ending a decades-long dispute between the neighbors. The agreement hit a hurdle on Tuesday, when President Gjorge Ivanov rejected it in a formal veto. Zaev vowed to overrule it in parliament as early as next week and then seek an endorsement in a referendum.