English
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called out Bulgaria today, over its demand that Macedonia must name the Bulgarian community in its Constitution. Mickoski was discussing Bulgarian efforts to get Macedonians in Albania to register as ethnic Bulgarians – with the offer of various perks such as access to the EU labour market with the help of Bulgarian passports.
In the 2011 census in Albania, there were 5.5 thousand Macedonians. Now there are about 2,300, as well as about 8,000 Bulgarians – the 2011 census had 0 Bulgarians. The real question is why must Macedonia, where about 700-800 Bulgarians declared that they speak the Bulgarian language at home, include the Bulgarians in the Constitution, but Albania is not facing the same demand over these 8,000 Bulgarians? That is the essence of the matter, Mickoski said.
Bulgaria blocks Macedonia from opening its EU accession talks over this issue. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry responded to the Prime Minister’s comment, saying that they are “deeply disappointed and categorically condemn his statements”.
We would like to emphasize that the issue of the rights of the Bulgarians in Macedonia is not a bilateral dispute between our two countries, but a question that affects the foundational European values and standards. Progress in the process of European integration for Macedonia is possible only with full and comprehensive implementation of the European consensus, agreed and adopted by the European Council in 2022, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.
