“If North Macedonia continues to behave like this, it is possible that Bulgaria will veto again,” noted the Bulgarian Foreign Minister.
Bulgaria has recalled its ambassador to North Macedonia, following renewed tension in relations between the two countries, this time over the brutal beating last week of a member of the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia who is also the secretary of the Bulgarian association in city of Ohrid, by three citizens of North Macedonia.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Milkov said this evening that the Bulgarian ambassador to Skopje, Angel Angelov, is being recalled to Sofia due to the “serious situation” prevailing in North Macedonia, regarding the rights of Bulgarians in the neighboring country.
Nikolai Milkov added that Bulgaria’s ambassador to Skopje will remain in the Bulgarian capital until, he said, Sofia sees tangible signs of a change in Skopje’s behavior.
Milkov, after the closed-door meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bulgarian Parliament, in which he informed about the progress and the new aggravation in the relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, left open the possibility that Sofia would restore the “veto” for the start of Skopje’s accession negotiations with the EU.
“If North Macedonia continues to behave like this, it is possible that Bulgaria will veto again,” noted the Bulgarian Foreign Minister.
For almost two years, Bulgaria blocked the start of North Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the EU due to open ethnic, linguistic and historical differences between the two countries, which has provoked strong reactions from Skopje and led to a cooling of their relations.
However, last summer, the two countries reached an agreement on the basis of a proposal by the European Union, according to which Sofia would lift its veto on the start of Skopje’s accession negotiations with the EU, provided that the North Macedonia will proceed to amend its Constitution, with the inclusion of the Bulgarian minority living in the country. This agreement provokes strong reactions from North Macedonia’s largest opposition party, the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE, which has declared in all tones that it will not consent to such an amendment to the country’s Constitution.
Amending the Constitution of North Macedonia requires a 2/3 majority in Parliament, which the government in Skopje and the parties supporting the agreement with Bulgaria do not currently have.
According to the last population census carried out in 2021 in North Macedonia, Bulgarians make up only 0.19% of the country’s population, a fact which Sofia disputes and considers that the percentage of Bulgarians in North Macedonia is much higher.
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