FYR Macedonia and Greece are unlikely to solve a long-running name dispute before an EU summit next month, but a senior official said Skopje is hoping for a way forward along the lines Croatia recently forged with Slovenia.

The European Commission last month said FYR Macedonia was ready to start negotiations on membership but did not set a date. EU member Greece, whose northernmost province is also called Macedonia, opposes the start of accession talks until the two neighbours solve the name issue.

Ahead of the EU summit in Brussels next month, FYR Macedonia's Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Vasko Naumovski, told Reuters that he saw hope in Croatia's recent success in setting aside a border dispute with Slovenia.

"We are hoping that the agreement that was reached between Slovenia and Croatia can be applied in our case too," he said in an interview.

"Namely, both the countries did not find a solution to their dispute, but they agreed to move the whole issue to arbitration and Slovenia lifted the blockage for the continuation of negotiations with the EU."

Some politicians and diplomats see renewed hope after a rare direct meeting last week of the Greek and FYR Macedonian prime ministers in Brussels.

"It was our initiative to establish communication," said Naumovski. "It was presenting new energy in the whole atmosphere."

Skopje is wary about predicting success in finding a compromise -- which could entail adding the word 'northern' to its name -- ahead of the summit, after a series of failed past attempts.

"Hopes are not at the highest possible level," the minister said.

Some EU nations are wary of an approach that puts off a resolution to the name dispute that dates back to FYR Macedonia's independence in 1991. The rift, with impassioned debates arguing over thousands of years of history, has also blocked the country's membership into NATO.

All nations of the emerging Balkans would like to join the EU. Slovenia is already one of 27 members and Croatia could become a member by 2012, diplomats say. The former Yugoslav nation of FYR Macedonia has been a EU candidate country since 2005.

If the EU agrees to start membership talks early next year, the country hopes to become a member in 2015, Naumovski said, and he predicted a new wave of foreign investment and economic activity beforehand.

"It has been proven that candidate countries reach the fastest economic growth during the period of negotiations," he said. "That's when mostly the investors come."

Reuters, Balkans.com Business News