President Pendarovski rejected the Bulgarian demand for quick changes to the Macedonian Constitution in order the name the Bulgarian community among the constituent nations. Pendarovski said that if this is the only issue after which Bulgaria would lift its veto it would be worth considering, but it probably won’t be.

Changing the Constitution today… If it is all that is needed for us to open EU accession talks and that all this rhetoric we have now.. then let’s do it. But I think it’s a tactical maneuver, Pendarovski said.

The VMRO-DPMNE party demands reciprocity – that Bulgaria finally acknowledges its Macedonian minority and adds them to their Constitution, while Macedonia names the Bulgarians in its Constitution. But that would likely be a non-starter with Bulgaria, and the SDSM – DUI coalition is unlikely to have the votes needed to amend the Constitution without VMRO.