OHRID FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT AND EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION 20 YEARS LATER

Jordanka Galeva, Ph.D Assistant professor /Goce Delcev University in Stip, Faculty of Law

Abstract: Macedonia became an independent state in 1991 and since its independence has declared its Euro-Atlantic membership aspiration, adapting to the criteria and conditions that emerged from this process. Ten years after its independence, an armed conflict erupted in 2001, which ended with signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which also became one of the basic conditions and criteria for measuring the country’s progress in Euro-Atlantic integration. In 2005, the country received the status of a candidate for EU integration, in 2008 it was ready to join NATO, but due to the name dispute with Greece, that happened only after the signing of the Prespa Agreement. On March 27, 2020, Macedonia became a member of NATO, and the day before the European Council approved the decision of the Council to open accession negotiations. The purpose of this paper is to see how the OFA’s principles have contributed to the country’s progress in the Euro-Atlantic process.

Keywords: Ohrid Framework Agreement, Republic of North Macedonia, multiculturalism, Euro-Atlantic integration, minority rights.