The Justice Ministry has begun to refuse the registration of organizations that contain the name Macedonia. In a decision signed by Justice Minister Bojan Maricic, an organization that sought to register itself using the name Macedonia in its title was turned down and informed that, according to the Prespa Treaty, the word Macedonia and its derivatives can’t be used unless the Ministry approves this.

The name of the country, and the Macedonian people or language, are frequently used in the name of various cultural organizations, commercial companies and NGOs. But the Ministry, in this decision, insists that “Macedonia”, “Republic of Macedonia” and even the old UN reference name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and “FYROM” are now off limits.

Under the treaty, Macedonia is forced to use the imposed name “North Macedonia” for public institutions, even when mentioning them in the short or adjective form. But private institutions are not mentioned in the treaty, other than the obligation that the two countries come to some compromise on trademarks.