Skopje, 30 September 2023 (MIA) — Five years ago on Sept. 30, the country put the Prespa Agreement to a public vote. The referendum question read: “Are you in favor of EU and NATO membership by accepting the Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?”

The Prespa Agreement between Greece and Macedonia was signed on June 12, 2018, to change the name of the country to "North Macedonia" and resolve the decades-long name dispute.

On Sep. 30, 2018, out of a total of 1,806,336 citizens, 666,743 went to the polls to answer the question. Of the referendum voters, 609,813 were in favor, 37,700 voted against, and 19,230 ballots were declared invalid.

The name of the country was changed by a two-thirds vote in Parliament.

On the referendum's fifth anniversary, former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev wrote on Facebook that Sept. 30, 2018, was "an important day in the modern development of North Macedonia."

"That is the day when Macedonian citizens from all ethnic communities came out in huge numbers to support the historic Prespa Agreement with the aim of our country becoming a member of NATO and the EU and with the aim of creating lasting friendship with our neighbor Greece," Zaev wrote.

"The number of votes for [accepting the Prespa Agreement] was greater than the number of votes for any election winners in the history of the state," he pointed out.

Relations with Greece have experienced a historic turn since, he said, adding that "today we have another neighbor on our side, a strong ally within the EU and NATO."

However, the former PM noted, North Macedonia was now facing new challenges and the government had succeeded in finding a compromise solution with Bulgaria through the European Union's proposal.

Urging parties across the political spectrum to "demonstrate determination for North Macedonia's membership in the EU," Zaev said it was time for a new Macedonian success.

He called on politicians to show responsibility through completing the required procedures "and use the favorable geopolitical moment for our membership in the Union by 2030 at the latest." mr/