Second day of the visit of representatives of the Macedonian Bulgarians in Brussels

Today, February 2, is the second day of the visit of representatives of the Macedonian Bulgarians in Brussels. After yesterday’s meeting with the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, today they had talks with MEPs from various political groups. The talks take place against the backdrop of the delicate relations between the two countries over the targeting of Bulgarian citizens and cultural institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia.

"What is important here is that integration is a two-way street. The representatives of the Macedonian Bulgarians have to be taken seriously. Their problems have to be accepted as problems of equal citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia, to be accepted by the institutions of the Republic of North Macedonia. That is why we call on President Pendarovski, the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Interior to meet with them, to hear from them personally what their problems are and of course the institutions to protect them as their citizens. They should protect them from the atmosphere created by hate speech and reduce this hate speech to an opportunity to stop with the practices of the past", said Andrey Kovachev, MEP from GERB/EPP.

"It is worth making another effort for the sake of making the Republic of North Macedonia a truly multi-ethnic state with respect for the rights and freedoms of all its citizens. And I believe that as soon as possible all forces that want a pro-European future for North Macedonia should work for the sake of changing the constitution of the country. Unless we change the constitution and write all parts of Macedonian society - Bulgarians, Croats and Montenegrins - into the basic document of the country, it will be very difficult to move along the path of Europeanisation. Bulgaria has an interest in Europeanising the Western Balkans, but North Macedonia also has an interest in continuing on the path of deep European reforms", said Ilhan Kyuchyuk, MEP from MRF/Renew Europe, the EP rapporteur on the RNM.