The attempt by the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria to open their own club will probably remain for some better times when democratic winds blow in the east.

The Council of Blagoevgrad Municipality banned the Macedonian cultural club “Nikola Vapcarov”, named after the famous Macedonian poet, claiming that it was a provocation.

Provocation is the most common word used by the Bulgarian authorities. But for them, this word has only one-sided meaning. That is, the unrecognized Macedonian minority provokes when it wants to have its own association or club, but 3500 Bulgarians in Macedonia must have their own foundations or associations named after controversial figures.

Strange some standards. But let’s not lie to ourselves, it’s not about any kind of standards, but in Bulgaria, everything is possible. The authorities in Sofia simply aim to destroy the Macedonian fabric. And they do it perfectly, of course with a wink or approval of the current government in Skopje.

That everything is possible for Bulgaria is also confirmed by the reaction of the EU, which, imagine, did not condemn the opening of “Vanco Mihajlov” and “Tsar Boris the Third”, but condemned the breaking of the sign.

Therefore, we should be clear that these provocations are approved by Brussels. The amendments to the Law on Associations and Foundations, which were agreed upon by both the government and the opposition, are good and are to be welcomed. But it is unlikely to expect that, as the amendments foresee, the founders of “Vanco and Boris” will change the statute or, God forbid, they will change the names.

And that will be an occasion for new threats from Sofia, which will be loudly supported by the EU. The hammer that Bulgaria is swinging at Macedonia is called the beginning of negotiations, and that’s all that matters to the authorities in Skopje. And even if the price for that is the waving of flags with characters from the fascist past.