In regard to the statement of the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev prior to the census in North Macedonia, the European Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero has told MIA that the census should remain a statistical, not political, exercise and urged all to contribute to the census operation in a constructive manner, MIA’s Brussels correspondent reported.

The Macedonian government and the Macedonian president Stevo Pendarovski condemned the undue pressure from the initiative of the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to convene a meeting of the security services for alleged violation of the rights of the Bulgarians in North Macedonia just before the census.

The European Commission encourages North Macedonia to conduct a census in line with the European standards and EU Regulations, Pisonero said.

“North Macedonia has been encouraged to conduct a census in line with the European standards and EU Regulations as part of the pre-accession preparations and Eurostat has continuously supported State Statistical Office to align statistics with EU standards. The census should remain a statistical, not a political, exercise. We urge all to contribute to the census operation in a constructive manner,” Pisonero told MIA.