Bulgarian members of the joint historic committee with Bulgaria say that the discussion on the medieval period, especially the legacy of Tsar Samoil, is practically finished. If confirmed, this would be a major step forward that would allow Bulgaria to lift its veto against Macedonia’s EU accession talks, but would also represent a major blow against Macedonian national identity.

The meeting is going well. We still haven’t finished the job but so far so good, said members of the Bulgarian part of the committee.

The arrangement is expected to include joint honoring of Tsar Samoil. Bulgaria wants Macedonian history and school books to represent him as a Bulgarian king. The extent to which this will be done is uncertain, but given the power Bulgaria holds over Macedonia, some compromise is likely to be accepted by the Zaev – Kovacevski regime.