Northern Macedonia is approaching the EU by leaps and bounds, almost 20 years after it applied.
MPs in the capital Skopje voted on Saturday on legislation mediated by France under which the country's constitution will be amended so that it recognizes the Bulgarian minority, and in return Bulgaria will not veto its accession to the European bloc.
68 out of 120 MPs voted in favor, while opposition members boycotted the vote.
"We are starting today on a new path for our country. Today we are approaching at an accelerated pace to join the EU family," said Prime Minister Dmitry Kovchevsky
European Commission President Ursula von der Lane, who came to Skopje to encourage voters to approve the proposal, said the decision "paves the way for speedy accession talks".
The vote will also affect Albania's ability to join the union because the union said it gifted progress in its request to join in resolving the Northern Macedonia issue.
As you may recall, a few years ago Macedonia changed its name to "Northern Macedonia" because Greece claimed that Macedonia was a region historically attributed to it, and to this day part of Greece - including the second largest city in Thessaloniki - is located in a province called Macedonia.
In return Greece withdrew its opposition to neighboring Macedonia.
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