Macedonia row foils EU envoy

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia yesterday alleged that reinforced Greek guard units were harassing its southern border as a European envoy returned to Brussels after apparently failing to defuse a festering dispute between Athens and Skopje, writes Hugh Pope in Skopje.

'I do not underestimate the problem of the measures Greece has taken against this republic,' said Hans van den Broek, foreign affairs commissioner for the European Union. Greece slammed a blockade against the republic on 16 February in a dispute over Skopje's name, flag and constitution.