Whereas, on April 8, 1993, the United Nations General
Assembly admitted as a member the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, under
the name the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 817
(1993) states that the international dispute over the name must be resolved to
maintain peaceful relations between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and regional stability;
Whereas Greece is a strategic partner and ally of the
United States in bringing political stability and economic development to the
Balkan region, having invested over $20 billion in the countries of the region,
thereby creating over 200,000 new jobs, and having contributed over $750
million in development aid for the region;
Whereas Greece has invested over $1 billion in the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, thereby creating more than 10,000 new jobs and
having contributed $110 million in development aid;
Whereas H. Res. 356 of 110th Congress, urged the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to abstain from hostile activities and stop the
utilization of materials that violate provisions of the United Nations-brokered
Interim Agreement between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece
regarding “hostile activities or propaganda”;
Whereas NATO’s Heads of State and Government unanimously
agreed in Bucharest (April 3, 2008) that “… within the framework of the UN,
many actors have worked hard to resolve the name issue, but the Alliance has
noted with regret that these talks have not produced a successful outcome.
Therefore we agreed that an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia will be extended as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the
name issue has been reached. We encourage the negotiations to be resumed
without delay and expect them to be concluded as soon as possible”;
Whereas the Heads of State and Government participating in
the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Strasbourg/Kehl (April 4, 2009),
reiterated their unanimous support for the agreement at the Bucharest Summit
“to extend an invitation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as soon
as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue has been reached within the
framework of the UN, and urge intensified efforts towards that goal.”;
Whereas the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has
consistently engaged in anti-Greek rhetoric, thus creating hostile feeling
among its citizens, which violates the principle of good neighborly relations;
and
Whereas authorities in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia urged their citizens to boycott Greek investments in the country and
not to travel to Greece: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)urges the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia to work within the framework of the United Nations process with
Greece to achieve longstanding United States and United Nations policy goals by
finding a mutually acceptable composite name, with a geographical qualifier and
for all international uses for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
and
(2)urges the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to abstain from hostile activities and stop
violating provisions of the United Nations-brokered Interim Agreement between
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece regarding hostile
activities or propaganda
.