On the edge

摘要

Could Macedonia go back to war? Watching Skopje's people sunning themselves as they wander around the market, it seems hard to believe. Harder still, when the casus belli turns out to be a referendum called for November 7th by opponents of a plan to redraw municipal boundaries. Yet the vote could upset the fragile peace deal signed in Ohrid that ended Macedonia's brief conflict in 2001. Foreign dignitaries, fearful of once again being late to head off a new Balkan war, are issuing dire warnings. Two weeks ago Romano Prodi, the outgoing president of the European Commission, visited to present some 3,000 questions on Macedonia's bid for EU membership, and made his displeasure over the referendum clear. Michael Sahlin, an EU special envoy, calls the poll "a step away from EU member-ship".