Mitsotakis: If North Macedonia does not respect the Prespa Agreement, their path to the EU will remain closed

Addressing residents of Veria in northern Greece, he emphasised that the government will be firm in dealing with this issue:  

"I would like to be absolutely clear from here, in the heart of Macedonia. New Democracy did not vote for the Prespa Agreement and we expressed serious reservations when it was ratified in the Greek Parliament. We had said, however, with all honesty - on this I never misled you - that once this Agreement is passed, practically this Agreement cannot be changed. And we will be forced, despite its problems, to respect it and that's what we did.

"But if some people think that they are able, on their part, to not respect the Agreement, they should know two things:

"Firstly, that their road to Europe will remain closed, and that, secondly, the memoranda which we must ratify will not be ratified until there is absolute compliance. Absolute compliance by the new government with what is provided for in the Agreement. Without going to extremes, without much ado, with the necessary firmness with which the Greek government approaches all these issues," the prime minister said.