BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2018) EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will visit on Thursday the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) some two weeks before the referendum on the new country's name, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement.
On June 17, Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers signed an agreement on the former Yugoslav Republic's renaming to the Republic of North Macedonia, following a decades-long dispute over the use of "Macedonia," which Greece has been objecting as this is also the name of one of its regions. FYROM will hold a referendum on the issue on September 30.
"Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, will travel to Skopje on 13 September to discuss with her counterparts future relations and the European Union integration perspective of the country," the statement said.
According to the statement, Mogherini welcomed the agreement recently reached between Greece and FYROM on the latter's name.
"The High Representative welcomed the historic agreement on the name issue reached in June and attended its signing at Lake Prespa. The EU has also been supporting the country, in line with the reinforced EU engagement with the Western Balkans, outlined in the Western Balkans Strategy, and commitments made at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia," the statement noted.
During the visit to FYROM Mogherini will meet President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev as well as leader of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party Hristijan Mickoski.
The agreement between Greece and FYROM provided Skopje with an opportunity to seek NATO and EU membership.
