Croatian member of Parliament Bojan Glavasevic called on his country to stand up for Macedonia in the dispute with Bulgaria, stating that it is Croatia’s obligation as the newest EU member state. Glavasevic, a left-wing independent, asked the Government what is it doing in the course of the dispute and how it intends to show solidarity with Macedonia, whose EU prospects are currently blocked by Bulgaria (after the long standing Greek veto and a brief French veto).

We need to show solidarity with the citizens of Macedonia and their right to self-determination. The Bulgarian veto is motivated purely by nationalism and GERB party attempts to distract the public from the corruption scandals of its leader Borisov. I think that Zaev also made mistakes, he made concessions where he shouldn’t have, but that are errors which I believe can be corrected after the elections in Bulgaria, Glavasevic told Deutsche Welle.

The politician also speaks some Macedonian, which he has used to promote his positions online. Glavasevic insists that it is unacceptable that Bulgaria uses its EU membership as leverage to pressure Macedonia on issues of national identity and language.