Regarding the government’s proposal for a resolution to be jointly submitted with Bulgaria to the EP to guarantee the Macedonian identity and language, Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski said on Monday he expected Sofia to demonstrate maturity in order for “us to move forward on the EU integration path as two neighbouring countries in the 21st century that should work in the interest of their respective citizens”.
Asked about comments by Academy of Sciences and Arts member Katica Kjulavkova that such a resolution would be “Russian roulette” because, in her view, the bilateral dispute would be given a chance to endanger the status of the Macedonian language, Mucunski asked for understanding from the community of academicians.
Currently, according to Mucunski, there is work on a new action plan on minority rights provided for in the negotiating framework. A draft document was submitted on which commentaries have been received from an expert from the Council of Europe (CoE), while a team of experts from North Macedonia’s Justice Ministry is analysing and improving the text.
A new version, Minister Mucunski noted, will be submitted to Brussels towards the end of the summer. Also on Monday, regarding the resolution issue, LDP leader Monika Zajkova stated that there “mustn’t be a debate on the identity and language”.
However, she added that if there was a process related to such a document, LDP would lobby with its European partners.