Vote on Prespa Agreement adoption in Greek Parliament postponed for Friday

The Greek Parliament Speaker’s office informed that the vote on the ratification of the Prespa Agreement has been postponed for Friday. The delay aims to accommodate the large number of lawmakers who want to speak during the debate. The vote had been scheduled to take place late Thursday night, but the office said there would not have been enough time to allow everyone registered to speak to have a turn on the podium. During the debate on Thursday, PASOK MP Evangelos Venizelos accused the Greek government for betraying the national interests by allowing the citizens of Macedonia to name themselves however they want to. “The agreement does not result with a complex name for use in all terms, but a double name, because of the fatal Article 7 of the agreement that allows FYROM to use the terms “Macedonian” and “Macedonia” however they want,” Venizelos said. Greek media cite sources from within the government that PM Alexis Tsipras secured a majority of 151 MPs for the adoption of the Prespa Agreement. Later on Thursday evening, around 2,000 citizens gathered in front of the Greek Parliament, protesting against the Prespa Agreement, with similar demonstrations taking place all over Greece, including the Evzoni crossing on the border with Macedonia.