English
The European Parliament’s foreign policy committee postponed its vote on the progress report on Macedonia after strong political pressure from the Bulgarian members of the Parliament.
It was expected that the report will clearly use the adjective Macedonian for the nation and language of the Macedonians – which was contested many times in the past by Greek and Bulgarian MEPs, as well as referring to Macedonia’s history and nationality. Macedonia is expecting that this will be a form of guarantee from the EU that the Macedonian national identity will not be undermined in the process of EU accession talks, during which Bulgaria and Greece are expected to make numerous nationalist claims. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski urged the Parliament and rapporteur Thomas Waitz from Austria over this issue, which led to attacks from Bulgarian MEPs against Waitz, even accusing him of corruption.
One of the proposals, from EPP MEP David McAllister and other distinguished MEPs mainly from Western and Baltic EU countries, was that the Parliament acknowledges is constant recognition of the Macedonian language and identity. In one counter-amendments, the Bulgarian representatives sought to label the Macedonian national identity as “the present identity”.
The European public can now see that the only thing that is being contested is the very existence of the Macedonian language, the Macedonian identity, the existence of the Macedonian nation. In 2025, a nation has its right to existence denied, by an EU member state no less. This is happening in the European Parliament, which should be the home of European democracy, said former Deputy Prime Minister for EU affairs Ivica Bocevski in response to this scandal.
Macedonia’s former ambassador to the US and Defense Minister added that it is normal to consult with the country that is subject of the report in the course of its preparation, meaning that allegations from Bulgaria that Macedonia was improperly informed of their requests and amendments are not understandable. “This is a win for our side, because the truth and the reality is on our side. We live in the 21st century. It’s improper to deny the identity of a nation”, said ambassador Jolevski.
