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Macedonia hopes to complete EU accession talks within five years
Feb 9, 2010, 18:00 GMT
Prague - Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said Tuesday that he would like his country to start and complete accession talks with the European Union within five years.
Macedonia has been a candidate for EU entry since 2005, but the Balkan country's accession to the 27-member bloc has been blocked by a long-standing dispute with Greece over its name.
Greece, a home to a historical region also named Macedonia, wants the former Yugoslav republic to change its name prior to joining the EU.
Speaking to reporters during his two-day Prague visit, Gruevski said that he would like his country to begin and end the EU accession talks during the incoming European Commission's five-year term.
He also indirectly called on Greece to try to solve the problem.
The Czech Republic, which became a member of the EU in 2004, has strongly backed EU and NATO aspirations by Balkan countries such as Macedonia.
Former Czech minister for European affairs, Stefan Fuele, is set to hold the enlargement portfolio in the new European Commission, the bloc's executive arm.
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