Until the issue of human rights and non-discrimination of Bulgarians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia is resolved, I do not see how the door to membership negotiations will open, said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev yesterday after meeting with representatives of the GDU party and six Bulgarian associations in Macedonia. Vice President Iliana Iotova, on the other hand, stressed that the Good Neighbor Agreement is not a good document and that the real problem to be resolved with Skopje is not historical issues, but “the issue of the rights of Macedonian Bulgarians.”
Yesterday, Radev held the first meeting of a Bulgarian president with representatives of the Macedonian Bulgarians, to whom he told that Bulgaria stands firmly behind them and that he has already expressed this position before the EU and in meetings with French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to him, without cooperation with the Macedonian Bulgarians, Bulgaria can not adequately protect their rights, and Sofia is currently in the process of formulating a new policy, Sloboden Pecat informs.
– It should be clear that in addition to protecting your rights, we have a broader interest in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, but your interest will come first. It very much depends on your unity – Radev told the representatives of the associations and reminded that the Good Neighbor Agreement also states that Bulgaria has the right to defend the rights of the Macedonian Bulgarians.
According to Radev, Bulgarian citizens are EU citizens, so their discrimination is discrimination against Europeans.
– Until the issue of human rights and non-discrimination is resolved, I do not see how the door to membership negotiations will open. This fundamental question does not depend on which government and which parliament will be in power. This is an issue that refers to European values embedded deep in the foundations of the EU – said Radev.
Iotova said Radev was under intense pressure from EC and EU Council presidents and the Enlargement Commissioner, but returned Bulgaria’s interest to the European table.
– Our country lost a lot of time relying only on historical facts that are distant and incomprehensible to European partners. The last political government did not raise the issue of the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, relying only on historical facts and the Good Neighbor Agreement. It was not until March 2021 that the topic of our neighbor’s rights was put on the European table, and President Radev did so. The signals we received from you, the facts we noticed, the media we read on the other side of the border are proof of that. The last Bulgarian political government escaped this. There is nothing wrong with celebrating holidays and laying wreaths together. The misconception was that, sooner or later, through these historical facts, we will find a semi-consensus between the two countries and thus open the way for membership in the future. But that did not happen. My firm opinion is that the Good Neighbor Agreement is not a good document. It is too general, framework and not implemented – said Iotova after the meeting with the associations of Bulgarians from Macedonia.
She added that the governments of the two countries avoided political responsibility and left everything to the scientists of the Joint Commission, which did not find a solution.
The meeting with Radev and Jotova yesterday was attended by the political party Civic Democratic Union, the associations Cultural Center “Ivan Mihailov” from Bitola, “Tribina” from Prilep, “Macedonian-Bulgarian Friendship” from Skopje, “Corridor 8” from Skopje, “Interaction” from Ohrid and “Edinstvo” from Kocani.
Source: Sloboden Pecat
