[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2014)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E197] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] REINTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA AND GREECE ______ HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of new york in the house of representatives Tuesday, February 11, 2014 Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to reintroduce legislation to address the long-standing name dispute between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece. This House Resolution urges the FYROM to work within the framework of the United Nations process with Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of resolving the name dispute and encourages the United States to work with its NATO allies to uphold previous NATO Summits decisions, with regard to the enlargement issue. As founder and co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, this is of tremendous importance to me. I believe the United States must send a strong message, supporting a solution to the name issue and to encourage the FYROM and Greece to reach a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible. Historical and archaeological evidence shows that the ancient Macedonians were Greek. Macedonia is a Greek name that has designated the northern area of Greece for 2,500 years. In 1944, the name of the Skopje region was changed to Macedonia as part of Tito's imperialist campaign to gain control of the Greek province of Macedonia. Both NATO and the White House have repeatedly emphasized their support for the unanimous decision made at the NATO Bucharest Summit in 2008 (and reiterated at NATO Summits in Strasbourg/Kehl in 2009 and Lisbon in 2010) that an invitation would be extended once a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute has been reached. As the United States and its NATO allies consider the future of NATO and possible changes in membership, the United States must abide by this decision. Otherwise, any move by the United States that shows support for extending NATO membership to the FYROM, before a resolution is reached in the name dispute, might be misinterpreted by the government in Skopje as a sign for further intransigence. This would eventually derail the ongoing negotiations, thus undermining U.S. interests in the Western Balkan region. This resolution urges the FYROM to work within the framework of the United Nations process and in good faith with Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals of resolving the name dispute. The resolution also encourages the United States to work with its NATO allies to uphold previous NATO Summits decisions, with regard to the enlargement issue and extend an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached. ____________________