Following the AFET’s adoption of Rapporteur and MEP Thomas Waitz’s draft report on North Macedonia, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has sent a letter to EU leaders, saying his country will not accept a substitute for the hard-achieved European compromise and that there cannot be negotiations on the issue of rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia.
According to the leader of GERB, ex-Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, nothing is over, that is, he points out that the amendment to the document will be submitted also at the EP’s plenary session.
“I think that with the EPP, which is not only the largest one, but also the most powerful one, we will manage to protect our history and our country. We’re investing efforts from the standpoint of both the government and the EP. It’s true that if I had been the PM, this wouldn’t have happened”, he notes.
Commenting on the Bulgarian politicians’ stands, PM Hristijan Mickoski describes them as positions for domestic use of theirs. According to him, the adoption is not a big victory, but rather a big disappointment because people were able to see the hypocrisy of certain EU politicians.
“There was an attempt by certain MEPs to create a new nation and new language in the 21st century in Europe”, he says.
The PM points out that even though those politicians are criticising what Russia’s doing in terms of denying the Ukrainian identity, they tried to do the same to the Macedonian people during the AFET vote.
The PM believes that the outcome of the plenary session is uncertain. However, he says the country will fight all the way.
When it comes to President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, she says she was surprised by the nature of the Bulgarian MEPs’ amendments concerning the nation and language. According to her, the EU and Lisbon deals, as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights, guarantee respect for the national identity, cultural identity, and diversity.
“I expect an understanding from our first neighbours, a friendly relation, and I think it will come to that”, the President points out.
Bulgarian PM Rosen Zhelyazkov, regarding his meeting with his counterpart, says his country’s stand is that North Macedonia should be part of the EU on the basis of its own merits. He again stresses that Sofia strictly adhered to the May 2022 Declaration.
“In this sense, protection of rights of Bulgarians in the RNM is of key importance to us”, the Bulgarian PM notes.