Greek Parliament May Not Ratify Prespa Agreement Amid High Public Opposition - EU Lawmaker

It is still possible that the Greek parliament will not approve name change deal with Macedonia, known as Prespa Agreement, because of the major public opposition, a member of the European Parliament from Greece Elephterios Synadinos told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) It is still possible that the Greek parliament will not approve name change deal with Macedonia, known as Prespa Agreement, because of the major public opposition, a member of the European Parliament from Greece Elephterios Synadinos told Sputnik.

On Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras suggested holding televised debates with the leader of the main opposition party New Democracy, who argues that the deal contradicts country's interests. In turn, New Democracy turned down invitation for a televised debate and called for holding snap parliamentary elections.

"It is possible that the Greek parliament will not ratify the Prespa Agreement. There are some Members of the Parliament announcing that although they are backing Tsipras' administration, they are willing not to vote for the name," Synadinos said.

The lawmaker noted that the members of the Greek Parliament who support Tsipras are under heavy pressure by their voters demanding them not to ratify the Prespa Agreement.

"Please note that the vast majority of the Greeks ( almost 90%) are against the concession of the name of Macedonia to Skopje. Therefore any Member who violates the public will, is going to have hard time in the future," Synadinos added.

The lawmaker stressed that any tremendous change in the current political situation in Greece amid the withdrawal of ex-Defense Minister Panos Kammenos' Independent Greeks (ANEL) party from the ruling coalition with Tsipras' SYRIZA is unlikely.

"The government will continue to rule the country until she ratifies the agreement with Skopje regarding the name of this country. This is what the US and the EU demand from Tsipras' administration," Synadinos said.

On January, 11 the Macedonian parliament approved a constitutional amendment to rename the country after almost three decades of dispute with Greece. The Greek legislature is expected to ratify the deal on the name change, lifting the veto on Macedonian entry to the European Union and NATO.