Greece is making a move that has left both supporters and opponents of the Prespa Agreement speechless in Macedonia. Instead of fulfilling the few obligations it has under this agreement, Greece is calling on anyone in the country who can prove their Greek roots to apply for Greek citizenship on the website of its embassy in Skopje.
"Greece needs you. Strengthen your connection with your homeland," reads the public announcement of the Greek Embassy in Skopje, with links to how to apply, the conditions and documents required. The basic steps in the process of obtaining Greek citizenship are either through a parent or grandparent of Greek origin.
The process begins at the Greek consulate in their place of residence, where they can receive the necessary instructions for each stage, the announcement states.
Those familiar with this campaign by Greece say that this is not an old historical campaign, but is part of a more recent initiative by the Greek state aimed at Greeks in the diaspora and people of Greek descent. The campaign began to be used after the reforms in the procedures for acquiring citizenship in the period 2023–2024, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Secretariat for Citizenship began to more intensively inform the descendants of Greeks that they can more easily establish their right to Greek citizenship.
It is very likely that this call for "reunification with the homeland" has been published on the websites of all diplomatic missions of Greece around the world, but such a "circular call" in Macedonia raises a series of doubts, which at first instinct - lead to the thought of a modern attempt at assimilation. Such a call to prove Greek origin, placed in the context of the complicated history of Macedonian-Greek relations that has lasted for more than a century, and culminated with the Prespa Agreement (degrading the Macedonian national identity and state), inevitably activates questions about the possibility and right of the so-called Aegeans (born and expelled from Greece during the Civil War of 1947) and their descendants to obtain Greek citizenship, while retaining their Macedonian nationality. Many trick questions are opened with this seemingly generous invitation on the website of the Greek embassy in Skopje.
Namely, the legal basis is in the Greek Citizenship Code, and the provisions apply to persons who have a Greek parent, grandfather, grandmother or other Greek ancestor, if they can prove the origin and continuity of the civil registration records with documents.
Once the applicant's Greek origin has been confirmed, the consul gives an opinion on whether the applicant meets the basic requirements, documenting his ethnic Greek status, after taking into account his knowledge of important thematic areas relating to Greece and the level of national awareness, thus determining his genuine interest in acquiring Greek citizenship. However, the existence of a Greek conscience must be established in the person concerned.
The room for doubt in the "honest intentions" of this offer for yet another neighboring citizenship in Macedonia has been widened, due to Bulgaria's current manipulations with the citizenships and passports it issued to Macedonians after it became a member of the EU. Twenty years later, with the number of those issued documents, it is blackmailing Macedonia with constitutional amendments to start negotiations with the Union, while simultaneously manipulating Brussels with stories about the "Bulgarian origin" of Macedonians.
" Pandora's box was opened by ignorant people who could not even foresee the damage of their short-sighted 'solutions' and agreements. Bulgarians have been digging, offering and accepting new citizens for years, but so far I have not heard a serious analysis of the purpose of this policy: is it a battle for numbers (for example, for an increased voting body in EU elections), compensation for reduced work capacities because their citizens are moving across Europe, abuse of the EU system for revising history, or a little bit of everything. This analysis had to be done by our expert teams who have data and a desire to understand the phenomenon in order to prevent it. There was no such serious approach, but only daily political politicking and superficial measures and draft laws. No analysis. No public discussions and seeking answers from those who have dual citizenship. If we knew a little more, we would know why Greece would benefit and how it plans to implement it by granting citizenships ," says Ida Manton, professor of international negotiations and mediation.
She warns that the EU's ignorant attitude towards these passport-handing practices of its member states only contributes to growing ethno-nationalism on its territory.
" In the absence of official information and statements, and with great reserve, we should still take into account the practices so far. Bulgarian passports are a reality. Our government, which has neither the intention nor the capacity, should have known by now, understood this phenomenon and informed Brussels that its members are distributing EU passports outside their territory, having almost no control over these citizens. The EU's silence and the pressure for constitutional changes are also a reality. The EU can solve this at the speed of light not because it cares about Macedonia, but to prevent ethno-nationalism from taking even deeper roots within its framework, among its members. If the EU gives the Macedonian passport a value with which people can live, work and move freely in the EU, in less than a month the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian passports (the new government mentions over 250.000) will become a thing of the past. The other option is for the EU to blink and remain silent. But Ukraine is watching. Moldova is too. This is how legitimacy is destroyed and patting on the back becomes increasingly more insignificant, and on the periphery ethno-nationalisms are growing because the liberal Union does not have the power to deal with such obvious cases in its own backyard. In this climate, the EU must see even the small symptoms of discord, of ethno-nationalism and abuses committed by its members and revive ghosts from Europe's dark and bloody history. The EU is a project that was supposed to overcome the concepts of isolating sovereignty, feudal order, territorial conquests and supremacy and replace them with democratic processes, inclusiveness, solidarity, progress and social responsibility. The EU must, for its own sake, not for our sake or because it loves us very much, stand up in defense of the system of values that is under aggressive attack by political profiteers who do not see the long-term consequences but the next election cycle , "assesses and recommends Professor Manton.
We, the so-called Aegeans, descendants of the Macedonians from Northern Greece, that is, Macedonians by origin, and not of Greek ethnic origin, recall that the possibility of repatriation has existed since 1982, when it was made possible for persons who, according to the law at the time, were considered "Greeks by birth". Hence, what is presented today as something new is actually not a novelty, but a long-existing possibility, with new specific legal adjustments, which is today being promoted through an organized state campaign, says the reaction of the Macedonian Patriotic Association V'mbel Aegean to Greece's latest moves and the relaxation of the criteria for obtaining a Greek passport.
"The reasons for such a campaign, in our opinion, are multifaceted. On the one hand, Greece is facing a serious demographic decline and population shortage. On the other hand, in relation to us, the descendants of the Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia, we believe that a policy is being followed that has its historical roots since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a fierce struggle was waged to win over the 'souls and bodies' of Macedonians in order to present them as part of their own ethnic corpus. Today, in our opinion, that policy continues with different means. Bulgaria started earlier, and Greece is actively getting involved with such a campaign these days!
This means that what some do today for economic and other lucrative reasons to acquire Bulgarian citizenship, we, the so-called Aegeans, have been able to do since 1982. But a large part of us remained true to our honor, pride and dignity. Therefore, it is no coincidence that it is often said that the core of modern Macedonianism is precisely the Aegeans!
We call on all our compatriots to think carefully before making such decisions. Do not allow the dignity of your ancestors to be trampled upon, and later, as we hear today in many other cases, to be followed by excuses that 'we did not know' or 'we were poorly informed'!
Finally, we believe that the Macedonian state should also take concrete measures and open a serious debate on the issue of dual citizenship with neighboring countries, taking into account national interests and long-term consequences.
"The Aegean is the soul of Macedonia," says the reaction of the V'mbel Aegean association.
