Macedonia’s parliament has approved a proposal to change the country’s name to North Macedonia.
The move could make the Balkan country a member of NATO and the European Union, ending a 27-year dispute with Greece.
Both countries agreed to a name change in June. Greece has said its neighbor’s current name implies claims on its own adjoining province of Macedonia, and on ancient Greek heritage.
Greece has said it would block Macedonia’s EU and NATO aspirations unless it makes the change.
However, Macedonia could see a dispute on its own territory, as the referendum on the name change failed to pass the turnout threshold of 50%.
Friday’s parliament decision was just the first in a long round of votes, which should be resolved by January at the latest.
