Macedonia (FYROM): Post-Conflict Situation and U.S. Policy (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised June 17, 2005 |
| Report Number |
RL32172 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Julie Kim, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
In early 2001, an eight-month conflict between ethnic Albanian insurgent forces and Macedonian
police and security forces threatened to derail the country's fragile stability and lead to another
extended conflict in the Balkans. Later that year, U.S. and European intervention led to the signing
of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which outlined a package of political reforms to expand the
rights of the ethnic Albanian minority while rebel forces were disarmed and disbanded under NATO
supervision. Implementation of the Ohrid agreement proceeded slowly at first but has progressed
in recent years. Numerous challenges in 2004, including the accidental death of President Trajkovski
and violent inter-ethnic incidents in neighboring Kosovo, threatened to increase political instability.
However, an opposition-sponsored referendum on November 7, 2004, which sought to halt plans for
decentralization and local governmental reforms called for under the Ohrid accords, failed due to low
turnout. Municipal elections under the new redistricting plan took place in March 2005. The
multi-ethnic coalition government that was elected after the 2001 conflict looks likely to complete
its term until 2006.
The United States continues to support multilateral efforts to stabilize Macedonia, but has
increasingly looked to the European Union to play a larger international role in the Balkans, starting
with Macedonia. In March 2003, the European Union launched its first military mission in
Macedonia, taking over from a small NATO presence. The EU military mission, which has also
served as a test case for the EU's ability to carry out its own defense policy, concluded its operation
on December 15, 2003. The EU maintains a police training mission in Macedonia.
Macedonia's long-term goals, shared by the United States and the international community,
include full membership in NATO and the European Union. NATO has pledged to uphold its "open
door policy" for NATO candidate countries such as Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia. Macedonia
has concluded a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, applied for EU membership
in early 2004, and anticipates formally being named an EU candidate country by the end of 2005.
EU and U.S. officials urged Macedonian voters to stay on track with reforms consistent with the
Ohrid agreement, and praised them for endorsing Euro-Atlantic integration with the widespread
boycott of the November 7 referendum. On the eve of the referendum, the United States announced
its decision to recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia, rather
than its interim name, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as an expression of support
to a multi-ethnic and democratic state. Its name, however, remains in dispute with neighboring
Greece, and U.N.-sponsored talks to resolve the dispute are ongoing.
Related reports include CRS Report RL31053 , Kosovo and U.S. Policy , and CRS Report RL32136 , Future of the Balkans and U.S. Policy Concerns . This report may be updated
as events
warrant.
