President Stevo Pendarovski expressed assurances that Bulgaria will not block Macedonia from opening EU accession talks, despite repeated threats in that regard from top Bulgarian politicians. Bulgaria wants additional concessions in a number of historic and national identity issues before it will allow the opening of accession talks with Macedonia that were expected by the end of the year.

It is possible in theory that they block us, but I hope, and based on what I know about the thinking of their President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, I think they don’t have an intention to block our accession talks. If there is an open blockade, a third party will get involved between us, and will try to mediate. The issue has to be resolved, you can drag it out but in the end it will have to be resolved. The sometimes radical statements from some Bulgarian politicians aside, nobody there disputes the current reality. They don’t dispute the language, the nation, the ethnic background. All the Bulgarian side is saying is, let’s see how it was in the past. I think that can be a basis for talks, Pendarovski said during a TV interview.

Bulgaria wants that practically all heroes of the Macedonian past, at least those that the Macedonian Government did not sign away to Greece with the Prespa treaty, are declared to have been ethnic Bulgarians. It also wants to make sure that the Macedonian language does not become an official EU language, as it considers it a mere western dialect of the Bulgarian language. Pendarovski recently warned that, if that is the Bulgarian red line, Macedonia would be better off giving up on its EU accession talks. Today he backpedalled on that statement.

When I said that it was not a declaration that we are giving up on the EU. It is just the red line we must have. After the elections I’m sure we will build a national consensus on the issue, Pendarovski said.