Athens , 1 December2007

Journalist: “My country’s path towards NATO goes through the agreement with Greece on the name of the country.” Don’t you think that statements of this kind contain a certain dose of extortion, while Greece promotes itself as a supporter of the integration of the region in which Skopje, too, is located?

Ms. Bakoyannis: First of all, I’m very happy to have this opportunity to address the citizens of your country through your newspaper.

Greece consistently follows a policy of support for the European perspective of all our neighbouring countries. It is deeds that make a friend. Not words. And Greece has proven that it really is your friend. It respects your independence and sovereignty. It has no desire whatsoever to involve itself in your domestic affairs. Greek businesses were the first to arrive here and they trusted our neighbouring country and its people when others confined themselves to giving lectures about your country’s need for development. We are pleased that our businesspeople have invested over €1 billion and that thousands of your compatriots have found jobs thanks to those investments. We are equally pleased that the Greek government supports infrastructure projects in this neighbouring country, with which our people want to have not just good, but excellent relations. Even privileged relations.

There is only one point of friction: our difference over the name issue. We live in a particularly fragile region. We have a common goal: To live all together in a European home as good neighbours, putting yesterday’s differences behind us.

Within the framework of the United Nations, our two countries have made a joint commitment: We have agreed to come to an agreement on a mutually acceptable solution for the name issue. Macedonia is a large geographical area that overlaps four countries. There are 2.5 million Greek Macedonians living in Greece. Our Prime Minister is one of them. It has to be made clear which part belongs to each country, and it must be understood that no one will claim all of Macedonia.

A country that has undertaken the obligation to find a mutually acceptable solution ought to honour its signature. Greece has done this. In short, this is by no means extortion. It is the fulfilment of the obligations we have undertaken jointly to find a mutually acceptable solution to our common problem. When this problem has been resolved, I think the two peoples will be shocked at how much they stand to gain from one another.

Journalist: However, if Athens uses some of the mechanisms for blocking Skopje’s admission to the Alliance and, later, to the European Union, it will leave room for a longstanding regional crisis. Does an unstable Balkans suit Greece?

Ms. Bakoyannis: No one would argue that consensus-based solutions lead to crises. Participation in the same defense family, NATO – as well as membership in the European family – presupposes good neighbourly relations, mutual respect, the resolution of problems that can poison these relations. In sweeping these problems under the carpet, however, we will be contributing neither to the improvement of the two countries’ relations, nor to the achievement of NATO and EU objectives. It is this simple fact – and nothing else – that Greece underscores. European and NATO perspectives are achieved through meeting a number of criteria. The criterion of good neighbourly relations – as well as other criteria, such as the strengthening of democracy or respect for human rights – applies to your country in the same way it applies to all candidate countries.

We want stability in the Balkans, but this presupposes sincere will to resolve the pending issues of yesterday. In fact, it was in this spirit that Greece submitted a proposal at the recent General Affairs Council for an initiative that will revitalize and accelerate the European courses of the countries of the Western Balkans.

Journalist: There is a strong feeling in our country that, thanks to Greece, our country is at the bottom of the list for integration into the European Union. Are you prepared to take responsibility for the consequences that might accrue from the name issue?

Ms. Bakoyannis: Friends talk to each other openly and sincerely. So the truth is – as all of your international collocutors have noted, and as your fellow citizens themselves know – that the pace of the reforms that are a prerequisite for NATO is not fast enough at this time. For all the countries that join NATO, good neighbourly relations are an important criterion that shows their political will to embrace the principles and values of the Organization. As the oldest EU and NATO member in the region, Greece is well aware that the path to convergence runs through political consensus. On the name issue, I think reasoning that says there will be winners and losers is wrong. A mutually acceptable solution will make us both winners. As good friends, both of us will show that neither of the two distrusts the other. This simple and clear stance, if adopted by both of us, will free up the creative energy that will lead our peoples to an even closer relationship for development and prosperity.

Journalist: On one occasion, you said that in order to find a mutually acceptable solution, both sides must first reach some sort of agreement. What does that agreement entail? Perhaps a publicly declared willingness on the part of both countries to withdraw from the current ‘barricaded’ positions?

Ms. Bakoyannis: Greece does not have entrenched positions. With a keen sense of responsibility, we are seeking a mutually acceptable solution, on the understanding that this will be based on a compound name. Following the very important step that Greece took in this regard, I find it difficult to comprehend your government’s refusal to take a similar step.

Journalist: You constantly criticize the authorities in my country for their intransigence, in spite of their offer of the ‘double formula’ (Greece’s option to choose a name for bilateral communication), their backing down on the flag in 1995, the constitutional changes. At the same time, it is not clear to us whether Greece opposes the term ‘Macedonia’ in the name of its northern neighbour.

Ms. Bakoyannis: No, we don’t rule it out. That is why we are seeking a distinctive compound name. We didn’t go to the UN to find a name to be used just by the two of us. We have to find a name that is simple, clear, practical to use, to be, one that will be used by everyone. If we don’t choose a name like that, instead of reducing the problems, we will increase them in the future. Our two countries don’t live alone in this world. Every day, we come into contact with the rest of the world, we travel, we have products. The name has to be clear to everyone so that we can avoid day-to-day problems. Problems  that – I stress once again – were created in times gone by, with other aims. They no longer impact our peoples, who want to live in peace, hand in hand, in stability and prosperity.

Journalist: Mr. Nimetz, who will be visiting Skopje and Athens next week, has exhausted all of the proposals that have been rejected at one time or another by both Athens and Skopje. Why didn’t you agree with the last proposal, and do you think Nimetz still has room for new ideas?

Ms. Bakoyannis: If we didn’t believe there is room for new ideas, we wouldn’t be in the negotiations. We support the efforts of the United Nations and Mr. Nimetz. I want to make it clear that we are talking about the resolution of the pending name issue. I remind you that Resolutions 817 and 845 stress that this issue must be resolved so that potential negative consequences for regional stability can be avoided. So we need clear solutions that are easy for the peoples of the region – as well as for the world as a whole – to understand. Now is the time.

Journalist: My country is still FYROM thanks to the fact that, because of the principle of unity in the EU, no European country can recognize its constitutional name. How do you comment on the fact that 120 countries have recognized our name? Are they wrong, or is my country more influential than Greece?

Ms. Bakoyannis: Europe – whose perspective we both share – has historical experience in addressing problems of this or a similar nature. All of them were resolved through political courage, appropriate prioritization of goals, and a constructive spirit at a given time. Beyond that, as you know, all the countries – including those that are more geographically distant – have made a commitment to recognize the results of the negotiations, precisely because they understand how important it is for there to be a mutually acceptable solution. In any case, you are part of Europe. Your present and your future is in Europe. Good neighbourly relations in our neighbourhood are equally important. Because we live here together. The future of the region is taking shape within Europe. The future of our peoples is being shaped in this region.

Journalist: How do you comment on the statements of my country’s authorities that if we are put in a position to make a choice between NATO and the name, we will give up NATO?

Ms. Bakoyannis: Democratic governments have a responsibility to lead their peoples into a better future. Their decisions are always up to them, and the peoples they govern will judge them, as is the case in all democracies. And the criterion is always the same: The extent to which the decisions serve the real interests of a people and a country.

Journalist: The Athens daily ‘Kathimerini’ recently published an article dedicated to the death of pop icon Tose Proeski, in which it said that the Greek authorities made an enemy instead of making Skopje a satellite and a partner. Do you agree with that comment?

Ms. Bakoyannis: First of all, let me express my sadness at the loss of a young and distinguished artist who used his voice to speak of what unifies us, rather than what divides us. Our Ambassador, Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou, conveyed our condolences to his family. You mentioned ‘satellites’. I don’t recall the particular article, but I must make it clear once and for all that Greece, which has suffered much from the interventions of greater powers, dreams of a community of equal friends, partners and allied countries in the Balkans. We have to leave behind us the policies, strategies and objectives of a world that has long collapsed and been relegated firmly to the past. Greece has never accepted such mindsets. We remain faithful to the policy of honourable, equal relations of cooperation and friendship between peoples.

Journalist: Your opinion, please, regarding the activities of the Greek political party ‘Rainbow’, which is committed to recognition of the language and cultural rights of the minorities in Greece?

Ms. Bakoyannis: In a modern European democracy with absolutely free elections, like Greece, political views are judged according to the response they receive from citizens. In this particular instance judgement has been passed.

Journalist: There is no dialogue between the politicians from the two countries, but the business communities are cooperating very well. Usually the opposite is the case. Can you explain this phenomenon?

Ms. Bakoyannis: First of all, we don’t accept the claim that there was no dialogue. We hold with Kennedy’s maxim: “Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” So apart from the meetings in the past between politicians from our two countries, I myself met with your Foreign Minister on the margins of the UN General Assembly, just after he took office last September. I had the opportunity to express both privately and publicly the will of my country to work constructively in the effort to find a mutually acceptable solution for the name issue. Unfortunately, a series of mishandlings on the part of the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia hindered further direct contact. In spite of this, Greece never stopped encouraging major companies to invest and create jobs in your country. And this is because it is our profound belief that economic growth, commercial relations, reciprocal visits by our politicians, and the prerequisites for prosperity in general, are the best answer to nationalistic extremism; the best recipe for strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation.

Journalist: Your latest initiative, Thessaloniki II – a bolder approach to the Western Balkans – was not even commented on in Brussels. It is obvious that there is no atmosphere or real willingness in the EU countries to give this region a second chance on the fast track. Where do you expect this to go, and are you optimistic about the region?

Ms. Bakoyannis: The Greek initiative reaffirmed that our country is constantly endeavouring to bring our Balkan neighbourhood as close as possible to the European Union. That is why our partners always listen to our proposals with great attention and interest. This was also the case with this initiative, which was discussed in detail by the European Union’s Council of Ministers. Initiatives of this scope always take time to mature, of course. But the Portuguese Presidency has already added this particular issue to the agenda for the December Council. There, together with our partners, we will examine Greece’s set of five proposals in depth. Greece will continue to fight this battle – and with many allies, I must say. I am certain that all of our European partners will be convinced that the European perspective of the Western Balkans – and that of your country, of course – adds something, rather than taking away. Stability and the resolution of problems in the region – with peoples that, rather than being hurt and humiliated, have the incentive of a better tomorrow – is a strength for the European Union.