NATO will formally start membership talks with Macedonia on October 18th. This action comes even though the September 30th referendum on changing Macedonia's name - the condition imposed by Greece not to block Skopje's path to the alliance - did not exceed the 50% participation threshold to be worthwhile.
However, over 90% of those who went to the referendum voted to change the name of Macedonia as the North Macedonia.Macedonia and Greece have reached this agreement in June, in an effort to end the 27-year-old dispute. Since 1991, when Macedonia declared the independence, Greece has caused diplomatic blockades, saying that by this name, its neighbor may have territorial claims against a Greek territory, known by the same name as Macedonia.
However, NATO made it clear that the name agreement should be ratified both by Skopje and Athens, so that Macedonia becomes the 30th member of the alliance. Admission talks usually last about 3 months before an acceptance protocol is signed.
The protocol should then be ratified by all other NATO members, a process that lasts about a year.