Macedonia’s parliament has approved a proposal to change the country’s name, bringing a decades-old dispute with Greece a step closer to resolution.
A total of 80 deputies in the 120-seat parliament voted in favour of renaming the Balkan country Republic of North Macedonia, just reaching the two-thirds majority needed to launch the procedure for constitutional changes.
The vote takes Macedonia a step closer to joining NATO and starting membership talks with the European Union.
Macedonia has been barred from both by Greece, which argues that the name ‘Macedonia’ belongs to its province.
