Prespa is a region shared between the Republic of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece.
Prespa may also refer to:
North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km2, while its land area is 24,856 km2.
Florina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, Greece. Its capital is the town of Florina with a population of around 49.500 (2019)
Pogradec is the eleventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly influenced by a seasonal Mediterranean and Continental climate. The total population is 61,530, of which 20,848 in the municipal unit Pogradec.
The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greece. They are the highest tectonic lakes in the Balkans, standing at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft).
Resen is a town in southwestern North Macedonia, with just under 9,000 inhabitants. Resen is approximately equidistant between Bitola and Ohrid. The town rises 880 metres above sea level and is situated near Lake Prespa. Resen is also the only town in the Prespa Lake area and is the seat of Resen Municipality.
Prespa is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen in North Macedonia with 9,000 inhabitants.
The use of the country name "Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Western Balkans for 25 years. It was resolved through negotiations between Athens and Skopje, mediated by the United Nations, resulting in the Prespa agreement, which was signed on 17 June 2018. Pertinent to its background is an early 20th-century multifaceted dispute and armed conflict that formed part of the background to the Balkan Wars. The specific naming dispute, although an existing issue in Yugoslav–Greek relations since World War II, was reignited after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the newly-gained independence of the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1991. Since then, it was an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations until it was settled with the Prespa agreement in June 2018, the subsequent ratification by the Macedonian and Greek parliaments in late 2018 and early 2019 respectively, and the official renaming of Macedonia to North Macedonia in February 2019.
Agios Germanos,, is a village in the Prespes Municipality in West Macedonia, Greece. Agios Germanos is located at an altitude of approximately 1,100 meters, on a hillside, part of the Varnoundas Mountains. It is 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) from the Prespes lakes, which can be seen from a panorama location of the village. Agios Germanos lies 45 km (28 mi) from Florina, and 44 km (27 mi) from Kastoria.
The Macedonians in Albania are an officially recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2011 census, 5,512 ethnic Macedonians live in Albania. In the 1989 census, 4,697 people had declared themselves Macedonian. In some circumstances ethnic identity can be fluid among Albania's Slavophonic population, who may identify as Macedonian or Bulgarian, depending on the circumstances. According to Edmond Temelko, former mayor of the Pustec Commune, "[...] Bulgaria uses heavy economic situation of Macedonians in Albania to offer them Bulgarian citizenship, passports and employment opportunity".
Dollna Goricë, formerly Goricë e Vogël, is a village on the western shore of Lake Prespa in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone located in the Korçë County in Albania. According to Bulgarian sources, including research by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Bulgarians.
Gorna Goricë, previously officially known as Goricë e Madhe, is a village in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone located in the Korçë County in Albania. It is situated west of Lake Prespa and the village of Tuminec, and northwest of the village of Dolna Gorica. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians, which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania. According to Bulgarian sources, including research by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Bulgarians.
Ethnic Bulgarians in present-day Albania live mostly in the areas of Mala Prespa, Gollobordë and Gora. According to the Bulgarian State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, 40,000 to 50,000 persons of Bulgarian origin are living in Albania, but those numbers are over exaggerated. Ethnic identity can be fluid among the Albania's Slavophonic population, who might identify as Albanian, Bulgarian or Macedonian, depending on the circumstances. Between 2001 and 2016, around 4,470 Albanian nationals applied for a Bulgarian citizenship and over 2,600 of them were granted one. The Bulgarian minority was recognized by the Albanian government in October 2017.
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It is a landlocked country bordering Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's 1.83 million population. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.
Prespa was a medieval town, situated in the homonymous area in south-western Macedonia. It was a residence and burial place of the Bulgarian emperor Samuel and according to some sources capital of the First Bulgarian Empire and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate in the last decades of the 10th century.
Small Prespa Lake is a lake shared between Greece and Albania. It is the smaller of the two Prespa Lakes.
Zoran Zaev is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.
Devoll is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. The municipality consists of the administrative units of Hoçisht, Miras, Progër and Qendër Bilisht with Bilisht constituting its seat. As of the Institute of Statistics estimate from the 2011 census, there were 26.716 in Devoll Municipality. It derives its name from the Devoll River flowing through the valley. The border point Kapshticë/Krystallopigi connects Devoll with the Greek regional units of Florina and Kastoria to the east and southeast. Devoll borders the municipalities of Kolonjë to the southwest, Korçë to the west, Maliq to the northwest and Pustec to the north. The area of the municipality is 453.27 km2.
The Prespa National Park is a national park situated in southeastern Albania on the border triangle shared with Greece and North Macedonia. At approximately 277.5 km2 (107.1 sq mi), the park encompasses the country's sections of the Great and Small Prespa Lake. It is considerably characterised by high mountains, narrow islands, vast freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, meadows, reed beds and dense forests.
The Prespa agreement, also known as the Treaty of Prespa, the Prespes agreement or the Prespa accord, is an agreement reached in 2018 between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, under the auspices of the United Nations, resolving a long-standing dispute between the two. Apart from resolving the terminological differences, the agreement also covers areas of cooperation between the two countries in order to establish a strategic partnership between them.
A referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters asked whether they supported EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa agreement between Macedonia and Greece, signed in June 2018, which aimed to settle the 27-year naming dispute, which had prevented Macedonia from joining both the European Union and NATO. Despite 94% of voters voting in favour, voter turnout was around 37%, less than the 50% threshold required to validate the results.