Is North Macedonia a disappointment?
Throughout political history, countless agreements have been signed to ensure peace, end wars, or establish trade regulations. However, to date, no agreement has addressed the changing of an independent country's constitutional name. The sole exception is the "Prespa Agreement." This agreement, signed between North Macedonia and Greece in 2018, resulted in the country's new name being "Northern Macedonia." Of course, reaching this agreement wasn't easy. For over a year, the Prespa Agreement became the most debated topic in both countries. The agreement between the two governments went to a referendum on September 30th, asking the Macedonian people, "Are you in favor of accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Hellenic Republic and joining the EU and NATO?"
There were two fundamental conditions for the referendum to be considered successful. The first was the participation of at least 50 percent of the population and a "yes" vote of 50 percent or more. Despite a 91% yes vote, the fact that the voter turnout fell short of 36% proved insufficient to determine the situation in Macedonia. The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) government was so determined in its initiative that it tried its second attempt in the parliament, where it had 120 deputies. This time, it achieved a two-thirds majority, securing the passage of the constitutional amendment. With the agreement, which served as an "Erga Omnes" obligation, the country's new constitutional name was now North Macedonia, both domestically and internationally. Of course, the number of those opposed to this agreement was considerable.
Protests took place in the streets of Macedonia for days, chanting "Our name, our right" and "Never North, only Macedonia." Furthermore, the referendum question provoked reactions, claiming it was too leading. A similar situation existed in Greece.
Some groups even opposed the inclusion of the name "Macedonia" in the new agreement. Chants like "Macedonia is Greece" were chanted.
Now, let's move on to the present day. Macedonia believed that by accepting the name North Macedonia, it guaranteed its membership in the EU and NATO. It had given everything for this cause.
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