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SKOPJE: Macedonia's parliament will vote on Monday on whether to ratify a deal to change the country's name, in a bid to finally settle one of Europe's longest running disputes.
Prime Minister Zoran Zaev faces an uphill battle to get the necessary votes to rename the Balkan state North Macedonia to end the row with Athens and open a path to EU and NATO membership. He needs two-thirds of parliament's MPs to amend the constitution and seal the deal.
But the Social Democrat premier's coalition, backed by parties representing ethnic Albanians -- who make up around a quarter of the country's 2.1 million population -- doesn't have enough votes. He will need to get the support of around a dozen deputies from the rightwing opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, which has campaigned vehemently against the change. (AFP)
