"Colpo Grosso" for the Greek Diplomacy

Hungary recognizes Macedonia under constitutional name Hungary recognises the Republic of Macedonia, the name laid down in that country’s constitution, a Foreign Ministry official said in a statement on Saturday. The name Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as listed in the United Nations since 1993, had hitherto been used in bilateral relations. Pelagon, a German-language news site on Macedonian affairs, said EU-member Hungary had “removed itself from Greece’s influence … in the absurd name dispute.” Meeting his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski in Budapest in November, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it was inappropriate for a member state to set the dispute’s resolution as a precondition for the commencement of EU accession talks. Hungary supports Macedonia’s EU candidacy, which started in 2005, and urges accession talks to start as soon as possible, the statement said.