Former Bulgarian Minister Boyko Noev says that Bulgaria should ask Macedonia to include a graph “Bulgarians” in the census, if there are already other nationalities, reports “Deutsche Welle”.

We want the Bulgarians in Macedonia to be counted. And not only to be counted, but also not to be discriminated against, if there is a graph for others, we want to have a graph “Bulgarians”, said Noev.

He emphasized that Bulgaria wants the Bulgarians in Macedonia to be equal and that this is an international norm, which is enshrined in all EU documents. According to him, without it – there is no way to move forward.

And because history will take time, textbooks will need to be cleared so that the rights of Bulgarians in Macedonia will be part of the negotiation process, Noev said, adding that “some European friends do not want that to happen.”