The foreign relations of Macedonia since its independence in 1991 have been characterized by the country's efforts to gain membership in international organizations such as NATO and the European Union and to gain international recognition under its constitutional name, overshadowed by a long-standing, dead-locked dispute with neighboring Greece. Greek objections to the country's name have led to it being admitted to the United Nations and several other international fora only under the provisional designation Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The United Nations member states are the 193 sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization.
The flag of North Macedonia depicts a stylized yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the center to the edge of the field. It was created by Miroslav Grčev and was adopted on 5 October 1995. The first flag of the country featured the Vergina Sun which had been discovered at Aigai, the first capital and burial ground of the ancient kings of Macedon. Greece considers the Vergina Sun to be a Greek symbol and imposed a year-long economic embargo in order to force the then Republic of Macedonia to remove it from its flag, resulting in the current design. The new eight-rayed sun represents the "new sun of Liberty" referred to in "Denes nad Makedonija", the national anthem of North Macedonia.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1244, adopted on 10 June 1999, after recalling resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998) and 1239 (1999), authorised an international civil and military presence in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and established the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It followed an agreement by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević to terms proposed by President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari and former Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin on 8 June, involving withdrawal of all Yugoslav state forces from Kosovo.
The use of the name "Macedonia" was disputed between the Southeast European countries of Greece and North Macedonia. 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, and the official renaming of Macedonia to North Macedonia in February 2019.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to North Macedonia:
The accession of North Macedonia to the European Union (EU) has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became a candidate for accession. North Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004, thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of five current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.
United Nations Security Council resolution 777, adopted unanimously on 19 September 1992, after reaffirming Resolution 713 (1992) and all subsequent resolutions on the topic, the Council considered that, as the state known as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) ceased to exist, it noted that under Resolution 757 (1992), the claim by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to continue automatic membership in the United Nations was not widely accepted and so determined that membership of the SFRY in the United Nations cannot continue. Therefore, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cease participation in the General Assembly and apply for membership in the United Nations.
United Nations Security Council resolution 795, adopted on 11 December 1992, after expressing concern about possible developments which could undermine confidence and stability in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and welcoming the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Macedonia, the Council recalled Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter and authorised the Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to deploy a presence of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in the border areas of Macedonia.
United Nations Security Council resolution 821, adopted on 28 April 1993, after reaffirming Resolution 713 (1991) and all subsequent resolutions, the Council also recalled resolutions 757 (1992), 777 (1992) and General Assembly Resolution 47/1 (1992) which stated that the state formerly known as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had ceased to exist and that it should apply for membership in the United Nations and until then should not participate in the General Assembly.
United Nations Security Council resolution 842, adopted unanimously on 18 June 1993, after reaffirming Resolution 743 (1992) concerning the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and Resolution 795 (1992) which authorised its presence in the Republic of Macedonia, the Council welcomed an increase in the number of peacekeeping personnel in the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 845, adopted unanimously on 18 June 1993, after recalling Resolution 817 (1993) and considering the Secretary-General's report pursuant to it, the Council urged both Greece and the Republic of Macedonia to continue efforts to settle the naming dispute.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1326, adopted without a vote on 31 October 2000, after examining the application of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for membership in the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Yugoslavia be admitted.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1058, adopted on 30 May 1996, after recalling previous resolutions including resolutions 1027 (1995) and 1046 (1996), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia until 30 November 1996.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1082, adopted unanimously on 27 November 1996, after recalling previous resolutions including 1046 (1996) and 1058 (1996), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia until 31 May 1997 and reduced its size.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1105, adopted unanimously on 9 April 1997, after recalling Resolution 1082 (1996), the Council decided to suspend reduction of the military component of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia until the end of its current mandate, until 31 May 1997.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1142, adopted unanimously on 4 December 1997, after recalling resolutions 1105 (1997) and 1110 (1997), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia until 31 August 1998.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1345, adopted unanimously on 21 March 2001, after reaffirming resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (2000), 1239 (1999) and 1244 (1999) on the situation in the former Yugoslavia, the council condemned extremist violence and terrorist activities in parts of Macedonia and southern Serbia and called upon Kosovo Albanian leaders to condemn the violence.
The Republic of Serbia joined the United Nations on November 1, 2000 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Originally the previous Yugoslav state was one of the original 51 member states of the United Nations.
Yugoslavia was a charter member of the United Nations from its establishment in 1945 as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until 1992 during the Yugoslav Wars. It rejoined the UN under the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2000 as a new member. Its seat was transferred to Serbia in 2006.
