site.btaMEP Kyuchyuk Calls for Firm European Parliament Response to Skopje Arson Attack

Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk called for a firm European Parliament response to the Skopje arson attack on Bulgarian diplomatic vehicles during a debate in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Kyuchyuk spoke during a debate on the European Commission’s annual reports on Western Balkan countries’ progress towards EU accession.

“My speech on Tuesday would probably have started differently had it not been for the arson attack on Bulgarian diplomatic vehicles in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia. If you tell me this is yet another criminal act, I want to answer firmly: this is an unacceptable attack on the property of a sovereign State, a member of the European Union,” Kyuchyuk said.

He said the matter should not be underestimated or left to a delayed response through investigation alone. “We see that all crimes against human rights in North Macedonia have recently been swept under the carpet. There must be a firm response from the European Parliament to this act,” Kyuchyuk said.

“We all see where hate speech leads. It leads to more hatred and greater confrontation. Instead of building bridges in the Western Balkans, we are building higher walls that will take us back to where we started in the 1990s,” he added.

Kyuchyuk said the European Commission’s work on enlargement deserved to be raised to a higher political level and that every effort should be made, through different approaches, to encourage Western Balkan countries and bring them closer to the EU.

“But with clear compliance with the criteria and clear fulfilment of the commitments made. Otherwise, the political narrative will be mistaken, and this will have a profound impact,” Kyuchyuk said.