North Macedonia: In Brief (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Sept. 9, 2020 |
| Report Number |
R45739 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Sarah E. Garding |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
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Summary:
The United States has supported North Macedonia since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and strongly backs its European Union (EU) and NATO ambitions. (The country's constitutional name was the Republic of Macedonia until February 2019, when it was renamed the Republic of North Macedonia.) On multiple occasions, the United States played a key role in defusing political crises and interethnic tensions in North Macedonia. For more than two decades, a U.S. diplomat led United Nationsâbrokered negotiations between Greece and then-Macedonia to resolve their bilateral dispute over the latter's use of the name Macedonia. With strong U.S. support, in 2018 North Macedonia and Greece reached the landmark Prespa Agreement, which resulted in the name change and resolved their bilateral dispute.
Many Members of Congress have supported North Macedonia's integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. In 2007, the NATO Freedom Consolidation Act (P.L. 110-17) was passed to affirm congressional support for enlargement and make North Macedonia eligible for assistance under the NATO Participation Act of 1994. Resolutions were also sponsored in both chambers in 2018 to support the Prespa Agreement with Greece and endorse North Macedonia's bid for NATO membership. Congressional interest in North Macedonia is also connected to broader policy concerns over the influence of Russia, China, and other external actors in the Western Balkans.
In 2017, North Macedonia emerged from a destabilizing two-year crisis with a new government that pledged to redouble the country's Euro-Atlantic integration efforts and enact reforms to tackle the corruption and state capture that took root under previous governments. The Prespa Agreement removes Greece's veto over North Macedonia's NATO and EU membership bids. Many expect North Macedonia to become NATO's 30th member in 2019 or 2020 and the EU to decide in 2019 whether to launch formal accession negotiations with the country. Despite positive assessments of North Macedonia's progress, the forthcoming period is generally viewed as critical to consolidating North Macedonia's recent gains and implementing reforms to bolster economic growth, reduce unemployment, and depoliticize state institutions.
Given U.S. and NATO involvement in conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s, as well as the U.S. role in defusing crises in North Macedonia, Members of Congress may be interested in North Macedonia's stability during what many U.S. and EU officials consider to be a crucial, albeit fragile, opening for reforms. Members may also consider the role that external actors such as Russia and China have played in recent years or could play going forward, particularly if North Macedonia's EU accession negotiations are further delayed.
