EU officials hail FYROM parliament vote

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the bloc's Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Friday hailed the approval by the parliament in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia of constitutional changes to rename the country "Republic of North Macedonia."

The deal, if ratified by Greece, will clear the way for FYROM to join NATO and potentially the EU.

"Political leaders and citizens alike have shown their determination to seize this unique and historic opportunity in solving one of the oldest disputes in the region, and decisively move forward on the European Union path," the EU officials said in a joint statement.

"The EU strongly supports this agreement which sets an example of reconciliation for the region and Europe as a whole," they said.

Below is the full statement:

We express our wholehearted...