Bulgaria expects constitutional guarantees for respecting the rights of Bulgarians of Northern Macedonia before the start of EU accession negotiations, said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev during his meeting with EU ambassadors.
Radev noted that “Bulgaria expects understanding, solidarity and support from its European allies on the issue of the European integration of Northern Macedonia”.
For months, Radev has been insisting that Skopje change its constitution so that Bulgarians can be included in it, as well as other parts of the people in northern Macedonia.
About 120,000 Northern Macedonians have Bulgarian passports.
“Bulgaria is actively working and supporting the European perspective of its neighbors in the Western Balkans as the surest measure to ensure the security, stability and economic progress of our region,” Radev said.
Therefore, Sofia expects to achieve concrete results both in the fields of economy and connectivity, as well as in “open bilateral issues in the dialogue with Northern Macedonia”, the president told the ambassadors.
He pointed out that among the unresolved political issues are the respect for the rights of the Bulgarians of Northern Macedonia, the strengthening of the laws on hate speech and the violations of the Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage.
“It simply came to our notice then it will also slow down progress in the process of European integration “, warned Radef.
He stressed that the intensification of the bilateral dialogue with Northern Macedonia is a positive sign. However, Bulgaria does not expect new assurances, but constitutional guarantees for respect for the rights of FYROM Bulgarians before the start of negotiations with the EU, Radev added.
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