In the second point of the Protocol that was signed Sunday by Macedonia and Bulgaria, there is the topic of the History Commission between the two countries. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, indicated at a press briefing that the words “encourage” or “stimulate” are used in this topic in order to make it clear that the Commission for Historical Issues is completely autonomous and has no political influence on it.

At Sunday’s press briefing, where Osmani presented the Protocol, he pointed out that the Commission is independent, and politics does not interfere in the work, but they make their own decisions, and it works exclusively on the principle of reciprocity.

In the Protocol, it is emphasized that the two countries, through the competent ministries and units of the local self-government, should include all already mutually agreed results of the Commission’s work within two years, according to Article 8 para. 2 of the Agreement, in the curricula, textbooks and relevant teaching materials, and to take the same results into account and to reflect on the contents of inscriptions on monuments, signs, information materials in museums and other objects with educational and cultural significance, as well as relevant information in publicly owned electronic information media.

So far, as Minister Osmani informed, five honoring questions and one recommendation for a textbook have been adopted. In order to make a decision, seven members of the Commission should unanimously say “yes”, and then that decision should be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then to the Government and finally to the competent ministry.