Festival unites people from all three Balkan countries sharing Lake Prespa

Lake Prespa, divided by three Balkan states — North Macedonia, Albania and Greece — has been on the area’s periphery, as twentieth and Twenty first-century historical past noticed the three nations separated by political disagreement.

Solely 4 years in the past, the Prespa Settlement was signed and the decades-long identify dispute between Greece and North Macedonia was resolved.

At the moment the spirit of this political settlement is already seen.  Over the weekend of 18 and 19 June, the Meet Prespa Pageant was held, uniting folks from all three sides of the lake.

“It’s great. It’s nice to be right here to rejoice this historic settlement with the folks from the native communities from North Macedonia, from Greece and past,” EU ambassador in North Macedonia David Beer mentioned.

“It’s proof that lives might be improved and alter can happen.”

Artists, musicians, and meals business representatives from the three nations surrounding the lake took half on the still-closed border between North Macedonia and Greece.

Panagiotis Paskalidis, the mayor of the municipality of Prespa in Greece, mentioned, “Yesterday we held a gathering inside the programme INTEREG [the EU initiative meant to support cross-border cooperation] for the event of the area.”

“I believe {that a} important step has been taken with regard to the border reference to the [Macedonian] Markova Noga crossing. It’ll carry folks nearer collectively. A music occasion is already happening in Dupeni,” Paskalidis mentioned.

On the border level, Euronews noticed that the subsequent village was only one kilometre away throughout the precise border — however to achieve it, one would wish to make a 180-kilometre journey. 

Folks from each side of the road are ready impatiently for North Macedonia and Greece to abide by their obligation from the Prespa Settlement to open the border crossing level as quickly as doable.