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Macedonia’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment to change the country’s name to the Republic of North Macedonia.
The change is the result of a dispute between Macedonia and Greece over history and national identity that has lasted 27 years.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev narrowly secured the two-thirds majority needed in the historic vote amid a boycott by opposition nationalists with eighty-one deputies in the 120-seat parliament voting in favour.
“A new historical chapter in our statehood has been written this evening,” the Macedonian government said in a statement.
“It makes absolutely plausible two of our biggest state interests – membership in Nato and EU.”
The countries struck the deal on the new name in June, but Macedonia will start using it only after the parliament in Athens also ratifies the agreement.
The deal will also lift Greece’s veto on Macedonia joining NATO and the European Union.
Greece and Macedonia have been locked into a dispute over the name that dates back to 1991 during the disintegration of Yugoslavia, when the Republic of Macedonia broke away.
Hundreds of people protested the move in front the parliament over the past number of days.
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