Macedonia expects to secure a date soon to start membership talks with the European Union and will step up its efforts to implement the reforms needed to join, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Friday. Macedonia won its candidacy status in 2005, but the accession talks remain blocked by Greece due to a decades-long dispute about the name of the former Yugoslav republic. Since he took over last year, Zaev has stepped up efforts to resolve the dispute with Greece, which says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim over its northern region which has the same name. Greece is also blocking Macedonia's membership of NATO.