site.btaBulgaria, North Macedonia Hold the Year's Fifth Mixed Commission Meeting

On Thursday and Friday, Skopje hosted the year's fifth meeting of the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Issues between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia.

The meeting proceeded in the “familiar manner of previous sessions”, to use the words of Bulgarian representatives. “Against the backdrop of the declarative willingness of colleagues from the Republic of North Macedonia to achieve results, divergences in understanding the commission’s nature were confirmed,” they told BTA.

At the Friday session, a protocol was signed regarding a meeting of the Commission that took place more than a year ago. To address serious delays and allow time for substantive work, the Bulgarian side proposed holding an additional online meeting in early December.

The new history textbooks for fifth, sixth, and seventh grades in North Macedonia will be discussed at the next meeting, scheduled for December 11–12 in Sofia.