Political reactions in Bulgaria after the Greece-Macedonia name deal

No additional guarantees are needed to protect the Bulgarian interest, Interior Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said on 13^th of June as regards the agreement reached between Skopje and Athens on the name of Macedonia. However, the opposition BSP urges the government to take steps in this direction. The United Patriots, junior partner in the coalition government, welcomed the end of the long naming dispute, but called for strict compliance with the Good Neighbourly Relations Agreement.

Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva welcomes the agreement reached on the name of Macedonia between Skopje and Athens.

I congratulate the two countries for reaching an agreement on such a long-standing dispute, at the same time we want to have guarantees - and we have them in the treaty that we have signed - that this will not lead to territorial claims or clams for identity, culture, language, she said.

Zaharieva pointed out that Macedonia's forthcoming negotiation process for membership in the European Union also ensures the impossibility of territorial claims by Macedonia to its neighbours.

Earlier today, the opposition socialist party, BSP, asked the government for additional guarantees that Bulgarian interests would be protected.

Kristian Vigenin, secretary of BSP Parliamentary Group: We urge to know what guarantees the Bulgarian government intends to demand, so that this name will not now or in the future represent a prerequisite or an opportunity for bringing territorial claims to Bulgaria or claims regarding the country's history or the identity of Bulgarian citizens.

The United Patriots have assessed the agreement between Greece and Macedonia as positive, but have warned that they will monitor whether Skopje respects the rights of the Bulgarians living in Macedonia.

Julian Angelov, secretary of the United Patriots’ Parliamentary Group: All falsifications related to the history in textbooks in Macedonia should be removed and the rights of Bulgarians there should be respected. Only this way will we believe that the new Macedonian government really wants to change things.

Bulgaria was the first in the world to recognize Macedonia's independence in 1992.

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