Its police authorities of North Macedonia they did not allow yesterday the entry into the country to five citizens of Bulgariaamong them and to MEP Andrey Kovachev (comes from the GERB party led by Boyko Borisov), who intended to attend a memorial service in memory of fallen Bulgarian soldiers by World War Iin the village of Novo Selo, near the town of Strumitsa.

According to a statement from North Macedonia’s interior ministry (which includes the police), the five Bulgarian citizens who were denied entry “did not meet the conditions to enter the country.”

“The police will not allow, now or in the future, anyone to violate public order and security and to insult and belittle the citizens and the state. Such persons will not be allowed to enter the country,” added the announcement of the Ministry of the Interior of North Macedonia.

The response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria was immediate, which expressed its disappointment at this action of the authorities of North Macedonia.

“The reasons for the denial of entry into North Macedonia are confusing. In relation to this unprecedented incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes that the minimum condition for the European integration of North Macedonia is the end of the challenges to Bulgaria, the Bulgarians and the representatives of the European institutions. The Bulgarian side will formally raise this matter with the authorities of North Macedonia and its international partners, as such events have a negative impact on good neighborly relations and on the efforts of the Bulgarian side to restore trust and create a positive climate for the development of of bilateral relations” is also noted in the announcement of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Every year on St. George’s Day (according to the Julian calendar), the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje organizes a memorial service at the Bulgarian cemeteries in the village of Novo Selo in North Macedonia for fallen Bulgarian soldiers from World War I.

The Bulgarian MEP himself, who was banned from entering North Macedonia, expressed his surprise at this action by the police authorities of North Macedonia, as he said he has attended at least ten times memorial services for the Bulgarian soldiers in North Macedonia.

The government of North Macedonia regularly expresses its displeasure and annoyance at statements and positions of certain Bulgarian politicians that refer to libertarianism.

Relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria have been particularly cold in the last three years.

For the past two years, Bulgaria has prevented 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.

However, last summer, the two countries reached an agreement, based on a European Union proposal, under which Sofia would lift its veto on Skopje’s opening of accession negotiations with the EU, provided that 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 0.2% of the country’s population (a total of 3,500 people), a fact which the official Sofia disputes and considers the percentage of Bulgarians in North Macedonia it is much larger.