“Ta Nea”: Names in draft-treaty in Macedonian, without translation, as one word

Athens prefers that the new name is in Macedonian language, without translation and as one word, reads Greek daily “Ta Nea” in Monday’s analysis of the draft-treaty that Greece will present to Macedonia, MIA reports from Athens.

The paper claims that Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias handed over the 20-page document to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prior to last week’s visit to Brussels, so that the content is presented to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

“It seems that Athens prefers that the new name is written in Slavic, without translation and having one word (for example Gornamakedonija or Novamakedonija). The key issue for Athens is the constitutional change,” reads Ta Nea.

Greece also urges for legal guarantees that a future government in Skopje would not make additional changes to the constitution, but also proposes that the Greek parliament ratifies the agreement following a referendum in Macedonia.