Prime Minister Zoran Zaev insisted that his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras in personally involved in getting other European Union countries to support “North Macedonia” in opening EU accession talks.

While I’m here rallying in Prilep and Veles, Tsipras is fighting in Brussels thаt we receive the date to open accession talks, said Zaev.

His signature promise, that the humiliating name change will be worth it once the renamed country opens EU accession talks and begins receiving more EU accession funds is in jeopardy as even some of Zaev’s strongest supporters in the European Commission acknowledged that talks won’t begin in June, as Zaev promised, and possibly not even by the end of the year. France, the Netherlands and Denmark are seen as strongly opposed to the opening of accession talks, which puts Zaev in the situation that he may have forced the name change for nothing.