The Name issue and Euro-Atlantic Integrations of Republic of Macedonia: The Public Opinion View

The process of integration of Republic of Macedonia toward European Union and NATO alliance has begun more than two decades ago, after proclamation of its independence. The generic nature of association elaborates the stages which involved several regional initiatives, as the Agreement for Stabilization and Association related to EU integration, of Adriatic initiative related to NATO integration. The main reason for stagnation and later blockade to this processes, is related with the Name issue problem with Republic of Greece. This was explicitly manifested on the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, when, after the Greek blockade, Republic of Macedonia did not received invitation for membership. After this, it is noticeable increasing of public opinion apathy and decreasing of the support toward NATO and EU integrations. The public opinion is also shaped and by the threat of opening the identity questions related and connected not only by the state name, but also and toward Macedonian national identity, Macedonian language and history. The right of self-identification, as universal human right cannot be subject of any political negotiations and agreement. In this sense, in this paper are presented results of Survey conducted during 2017, by the research team from Faculty of Law, on Goce Delchev University. Keywords: Macedonia, Greece, NATO, EU, human rights, name issue, identity