Opposition MPs, including former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, refuse to take their seats in protest at a vote to start the process of changing the country's name | Robert Atanasovski/AFP via Getty Images EU, NATO urge quick Macedonia name change after parliament vote MPs agree to begin process to end longstanding dispute with Greece.

The European Union and NATO called on Macedonia to swiftly complete moves to change the country's name after MPs voted to begin the process, part of a deal to end a decades-old dispute with Greece and build closer ties to the West.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn, the European commissioner for relations with the EU's neighbors, said the Balkan country had taken “a very important step” with the parliamentary vote on Friday night.

"We now expect the national procedures for the implementation of the agreement to continue without any delays, towards the adoption of the constitutional changes," they said in a statement. "This is a truly unique opportunity for decisively moving the country forward on its European Union path as well as for reconciliation in the region."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg struck a similar note: "It's up to the government & political leaders to complete national procedures on the name agreement & seize this historic opportunity," he tweeted.

The leaders of Macedonia and Greece agreed in June on a deal to end their dispute. Greece has insisted that the name "Macedonia" implies a claim on a northern Greek region of the same name and on ancient Greek heritage. Under the pact, Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia and Athens agreed to lift its block on the country's path to NATO and the EU.

But the deal has been rejected by opposition parties in both countries, making ratification difficult. Last month, a referendum on the agreement in Macedonia failed to pass the 50 percent turnout bar that had to be cleared for the vote to be considered legally valid.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's government does not have the necessary two-thirds majority in parliament to change the constitution but it secured the votes of some opposition MPs to start the process on Friday night. The bare minimum of 80 members of the 120-seat parliament backed the move.

However, the government will need to muster another two-thirds majority to finalize the changes and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also faces serious resistance to getting the deal through parliament in Athens.