Chinese authorities reject Greek company’s request to use 'Macedonian' on its products

Chinese authorities have rejected a Greek company's request for the use of the term "Macedonian" on its products, on the grounds that it cannot be used without the permission of Skopje, said Maria Spyraki, spokesperson for leading opposition party New Democracy.

Spyraki says problems have been created for Greek businesses and Greek products under the Prespa Agreement and this is highlighted by the Chinese authorities recent rejection.

"Without disclosing the name of the business, I hereby inform you that we have a rejection from China of a Greek company's request for the use of the term 'Macedonian' for its products, on the grounds that it can not be used without permission from our neighboring country. The rejection is dated February 23, 2019," said Spyraki at a political meeting on Monday.

This follows Skopje's challenge to present "Macedonian" 2,000-year-old wines at a fair in Germany. It was preceded by the ITB International Tourism Fair in Berlin, where Skopje also appeared as Macedonia and was then forced to add the term "North" to their stand.

As Spyrakis pointed out, "with the Prespa Agreement, the government has left the issue of trademarks, brands and brand names for our Macedonian products in jeopardy. Greek businesses are already paying the cost of this damaging agreement,” she added.

*Source: Protothema.gr