Austria, Slovakia back Macedonia opening EU talks

[poiuytrewq0987]

The FINANCIAL -- Austria and Slovakia on Tuesday threw their support behind Macedonia opening accession talks with the European Union this year despite its long-running name row with neighbouring Greece.

"We believe that Macedonia has waited long enough. We will therefore lobby within the EU for a decision to start accession negotiations... by the end of the year," Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said.

"The name dispute is highly sensitive ... but in the end it is a bilateral issue between Greece and Macedonia and it should no longer block the start of the accession negotiations," he added after a joint meeting with his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak and Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki.

Lajcak agreed that Macedonia "should be the next country to start EU accession talks, with Bratislava and Vienna assisting this process".

However the Slovak diplomat added that before the talks can be opened the parties would need to convince "all 27 member-states there is (a) political will to solve the bilateral issue".

As EUbusiness reported, Macedonia was granted EU candidate status in 2005, but the start of the accession talks has been blocked ever since by Greece due to the name row.

Athens and Skopje have been at loggerheads over the right to the name Macedonia since the former Yugoslav republic proclaimed independence in 1991, as a northern Greek province has the same name.

Athens worries it could imply a claim on its territory, and accuses Macedonia of trying to usurp its heritage. UN mediation has so far been fruitless in breaking the impasse.

http://finchannel.com/news_flash/Wor...ing_EU_talks_/

[Bugarash]

Macedonia will never join the EU...or if it happens it wont be earlier than 2025.
Sad for the people who will eather go to another country or resume living in bigger poverty...but at least they will get bulgarian citizenship which will help them push through the hard times.

if the name issue was solved in by 2009,Macedonia would have joined the EU in 2016.

[poiuytrewq0987]

Macedonia will never join the EU...or if it happens it wont be earlier than 2025.
Sad for the people who will eather go to another country or resume living in bigger poverty...but at least they will get bulgarian citizenship which will help them push through the hard times.

if the name issue was solved in by 2009,Macedonia would have joined the EU in 2016.

Greece is purposefully trying to destabilize Macedonia and they hope to do this by blocking Macedonia from entry into NATO and EU... but this won't work and nea-Ellines can go get fucked.

[The Lawspeaker]

By the time Monkeydonia joins the EU there will be no more EU. They try to join so they can get their greedy little hands into the coffers of the Dutch and Germans and only arrive to see the EU dismantled and the coffers empty.

[poiuytrewq0987]

By the time Monkeydonia joins the EU there will be no more EU. They try to join so they can get their greedy little hands into the coffers of the Dutch and Germans and only arrive to see the EU dismantled and the coffers empty.

The EU will only end if Germany collapses and Germany is not collapsing anytime soon... only troublesome Greece, Italy and Spain are causing problems via their exorbitant debt levels. Our debt level is among the lowest in Europe just behind Estonia and Bulgaria. The Euro is still seen as a safe haven like US treasury bonds.

[The Lawspeaker]

The Euro is still seen as a safe haven like US treasury bonds.

You're clearly still in America. Look up the latest news about Spain etc.

[poiuytrewq0987]

You're clearly still in America. Look up the latest news about Spain etc.

Of course the Euro will take a beating right now because of Spain and Italy but... will it collapse? That's ridiculous. Germans have too much invested in the Euro and they won't abandon the single currency just because you want them to.

[The Lawspeaker]

Of course the Euro will take a beating right now because of Spain and Italy but... will it collapse?

Yes. And there are plenty of analysts here in Europe that forecast it. There isn't a single currency union without a political union that has ever lasted through the ages.

[poiuytrewq0987]

Yes. And there are plenty of analysts here in Europe that forecast it. There isn't a single currency union without a political union that has ever lasted through the ages.

Which you already have foundations for.

[Rereg]

Of course the Euro will take a beating right now because of Spain and Italy but... will it collapse? That's ridiculous. Germans have too much invested in the Euro and they won't abandon the single currency just because you want them to.

European Union is just bankrupt and living dead. I'm sure that for 20-25 years EU will fall and bury Germany.