United Nations mediator Matthew Nimitz suggests a new name for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; 'Republika Makedonija-Skopje'. The Greek and Macedonian governements are debating about the name issue since 1991, when FYR Macedonia became an independent nation.
The Greek minister of foreign affairs, Petros Molyviatis, agreed that this new proposal is a basis for further negotiations. Greece generally fears that the name 'Macedonia' encourages a claim on the northern Greek province of Macedonia. A majority of the Macedonians avoid the name 'FYR Macedonia' or the abbreviation 'FYROM'. Skopje has not yet made any official statements on the proposal.
Since FYR Macedonia participates in the Eurovision Song Contest, they introduced themselves as “the Republic of Macedonia”. The European Broadcasting Union follows United Nations policy regarding country names, using 'FYR Macedonia' for screen graphics, websites and press releases.
It's unlikely that we will already receive votes in 2005 from “Republika Makedonija-Skopje”, as the neighbour countries still have to negotiate about the United Nations' proposal.
Note: although media translated the suggested name to their own language, the official proposal is – as one of our readers correctly explained – to use an untranslated version of the name; Republika Makedonija-Skopje.
