CHUMACHENKO O. A. European Union policy towards the Republic of Macedonia in 1990s

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      Disintegration processes in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in the early 1990s resulted, on the one hand, the desire of the Balkan States to "return to Europe", on the other hand, stimulated the European Union (EU) to fragment the Balkans on the east and west. By the mid-1990s, the EU is developing a regional approach to the Western Balkan countries with the aim of involving them in the process of European integration. Least developed Western Balkan Republic of Macedonia was the only country which emerged from Yugoslavia without bloodshed. During the 1990s coalition governments managed to solve issues between ethnic Macedonians and Albanians in the country so far in 2001 when an armed uprising broke out of the Albanian National Liberation Army.

     The article explores the process of formation and development of the European Union policy towards the Republic of Macedonia (RM) during the 1990s. It is shown that the diplomatic recognition of the Republic of Moldova has become complicated due to the contradictions between European Union member Greece and the Republic of Macedonia on the state name, nationality and elements of state symbols. The political failure of the European Union to resolve the Yugoslav crisis in the first half of the 1990s offsets in the second half of the 1990s successful involvement of the Western Balkan countries in the integration process. The European Union has provided comprehensive support Republic of Macedonia using the financial instrument PHARE and concluded the Cooperation Agreement with Republic of Macedonia. Since 1999, the European Union draws PM to Stabilization and Association Process (SAP), which meant cooperation on an individual basis within the framework of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the aim of Republic of Macedonia joining the European Union in the future.

    Republic of Macedonia became the first Western Balkans country, which in April 2001 concluded SAA with the European Union within SAP. The signing took place during the inter-ethnic armed conflict that took place in Republic of Macedonia from January to August 2001, and the country was still not quite ready to sign the agreement. However, the European Union, which played a leading role in international diplomatic activities to resolve the conflict, signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement in such a difficult time for Republic of Macedonia to force the Macedonian politicians to start solving ethnic problems in the country.

Key words: Republic of Macedonia, European Union, the PHARE, the Cooperation agreement, Stabilisation and Association Process, Stabilisation and Association Agreement, Ohrid Framework Agreement.