A referendum on the restoration of the monarchy was then defeated, and a new republican constitution was approved in 1975. In the following decades the government changed frequently. In 1991 the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Greece's northern neighbor, declared its independence. Greece objected to the state's name and flag, claiming that Macedonia was a Greek name, and that the flag appropriated a Greek symbol. Greece also asserted that the republic's constitution implied territorial claims to the Greek province of Macedonia.
Negotiations continue regarding the issue of the republic's name.
In the 1990s Greece was also at odds with Albania over the alleged mistreatment of the Greek minority in that country. Persistent tensions have resulted in several border shootings of Albanian refugees by Greek troops, the expulsion of thousands of illegal Albanian workers from Greece, and the imprisonment of five Greek minority leaders in Albania on charges of espionage and arms smuggling.