Greece threatens to veto Macedonia's NATO bid

Greece opposes the use of the name Macedonia because it has a province of the same name and wants to avert not just confusion, but any attempt at claims on Greek territory. Seizing the leverage offered by Macedonia's NATO membership bid, Greece is therefore determined to impose a veto unless and
until an agreed solution is found. Macedonia has been recognised by some 120 countries but has to use ‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia' in multilateral settings.
Talks on the matter have been under way for well over a decade without result. Macedonian media reports suggest that US President George W. Bush could personally intervene to secure a last-minute breakthrough which would allow the NATO summit to invite Macedonia to join.
But a NATO diplomat suggested a second option, in which Macedonia would receive an invitation at Bucharest even without a prior settlement of the name issue – on condition that it agrees a compromise with Greece before actually entering the alliance.
NATO's 26 members need to ratify the treaty of accession with any would-be member following an invitation, giving Greece a further opportunity to exercise a veto.
NATO hopes to wrap up the accession process for the three western Balkan states by the time of its 60th-anniversary summit, scheduled for June 2009, probably in Paris, at which France plans to formalise its return into the alliance.
The name row is one of several contentious issues on the summit agenda. “In contrast to the usual scenario in which conclusions are mapped out well in advance, this will be a summit that takes decisions as it convenes,” said Charles Kupchan, a Georgetown University professor who also follows NATO affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
One of the other areas likely to provoke real discussion is the possible further expansion of NATO beyond these three Balkan countries. The US government is keen on offering so-called Membership Application Plans (MAP) to Ukraine and Georgia, an idea many European members oppose. Germany in particular is worried about upsetting Russia.
“Russia has no veto on this,” the NATO diplomat said, echoing recent statements by US officials that Ukrainian and Georgian membership is not a question of “if” but “when”. He said that even if NATO leaders failed to offer MAPs to the two countries, there would be a “strong signal” that they were eligible for future membership.
But the toughest decision at Bucharest concerns NATO burden-sharing amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. Last year saw the most violent combat since the Taliban were toppled in 2001.
The alliance plans to respond with a vision statement and political-military strategy for the country. Unlike MAPs and Macedonia, “this is an issue of burning necessity,” Kupchan said.
The US, UK, the Netherlands and Canada make up the bulk of the fighting force, with other countries – notably Germany – mainly providing peacekeepers in regions with less violence. Other countries have also placed numerous restrictions on the involvement of the troops that they have sent to Afghanistan, which robs NATO commanders of the possibility of coherent deployment.