Foreign Ministry: Bulgaria Voices Concern Over Skopje’s Deviation from the 2022 European Consensus

Bulgaria has expressed concern over what it describes as the latest “fabricated arguments” put forward by the authorities in Skopje, which, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry, sharply diverge from the substance of the European consensus reached in 2022.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stressed that the question of the language in which North Macedonia’s anticipated Action Plan on the Rights of Communities should be drafted is an internal matter for the neighbouring country and not a subject of bilateral relations.

“The question of the language in which North Macedonia’s anticipated Action Plan on the Rights of Communities should be drafted is an internal matter for the neighbouring state and is not an issue of bilateral relations. The document will be implemented by its own institutions with regard to its own citizens, and it is therefore logical that it should be written in a language accessible to them. Skopje’s decision to present the draft of this plan to its citizens in English is difficult to explain, particularly if the plan is intended to be applied in practice,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The ministry recalled that the Action Plan on the Rights of Communities is a step envisaged to follow the inclusion of Bulgarians in North Macedonia’s constitution—an amendment that has yet to take place and which is required in order for the country to open accession negotiations with the European Union.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry also welcomed remarks by North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski that he would “accept all other comments” made by the Bulgarian community in relation to the plan, saying it expects this commitment to be honoured.