Kotzias

In comments on Tuesday responding to criticism by Defense Minister Panos Kammenos over the recent Macedonia name deal, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said the accord was "very good" and does not require an enhanced majority in Parliament as it does not compromise national sovereignty.

In his comments on Tuesday, Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos rejected as "bad" the Macedonia name deal signed by Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and pledged to obstruct its approval.

"For me, the deal is bad, I don't accept it and will try to block it," he said.

As tensions simmer over Greece's recent name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a Supreme Court prosecutor has ordered a probe into claims by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias that he received threats over the agreement. 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Thursday claimed that he has received dozens of threats against himself and his family, and challenged judicial authorities for failing to take action.

European Union member-states have agreed to opening membership talks with Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in a year if reform efforts in the two nations continue to progress.

EU foreign ministers on Tuesday postponed the opening of European Union accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Albania until 2019, after France, the Netherlands and Denmark expressed reservations on the two countries at a meeting of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

In comments on Monday, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias referred to the name deal agreed between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia earlier this month as "the best news in Europe in five years."

This is according to Greek Foreign Minster Nikos Kotzias, who spoke for EURACTIV.com.

Kotzias thinks that this would contribute to stability in the Balkans.

France and the Netherlands are likely to resist the opening of European Union accession negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and reject the candidacy of Albania at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday and the EU summit on Thursday and Friday.

White smoke emanated from Psarades, a tiny village in the Prespes Lake district where Greece shares a border with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), signaling the end of a decades-long dispute between the two countries over the use of the name "Macedonia." On Sunday, June 17, 2018, the two premiers, Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, defied protests in their countries and met for a