site.btaNorth Macedonia's Foreign Minister Mucunski: Language, Identity Are Clear Red Lines from Which We Will Not Retreat

Sofia has entered into a "very dangerous narrative" that is inconsistent with the strategic interests of the EU and NATO but "is consistent with the interests of third countries that want instability in the region," North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski said here on Friday. He spoke at a news conference at which he reported back on his Ministry's performance during the first year of his term in office.

"As an EU Member State, Bulgaria cannot use its EU membership as a tool of its own to redefine the national identity of the people in North Macedonia," Mucunski argued.

He was referring to a current dispute between Sofia and Skopje over amendments to a Motion for a European Parliament Resolution on the 2023 and 2024 European Commission reports on North Macedonia. The Bulgarian MEPs insist that the Macedonian language and identity, mentioned in the opening recitals of the draft resolution, should be qualified as "modern". On June 24, the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) rejected these amendments.

North Macedonia's Foreign Minister described the version of the draft report approved by AFET as a "historic moment" but specified that it is early to exult because it is not clear what text of the report will be adopted by the European Parliament in plenary in early July. 

"We have very clear red lines from which we will not retreat, and they are related to language, identity, including the need to affirm our cultural and historical past, academic freedom for any discussion on this issue, and not to tolerate ignoring the factual situation, i.e. the obvious violations that our neighbour Bulgaria is committing with regard to the principles arising from public international law which they are obliged to apply, and I am referring to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights," Skopje's chief diplomat commented.

The reference is to judgments finding that Bulgaria has violated the European Convention of Human Rights by refusing to register organizations claiming to represent a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria.

"Most European countries are clear about what is happening to our country. I would like to urge Sofia to behave rationally, not to get stuck in the retrograde narratives that, unfortunately, certain circles in that country have built up regarding the Macedonian question....What Sofia has been doing lately, this explicit attempt, which we oppose with all our might, to redefine our identity, is retrograde, it does not benefit the region and the peoples of the two countries which, regrettably, increasingly drift away from each other because of such relations," Mucunski went on to say.

"If demanding the affirmation of our identity and language is seen as hate speech, then the problem is bigger than we think," he commented.

Mucunski reacted to a statement that Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov made in Brussels on Thursday: "I asked [European Council President Antonio] Costa to draw the attention of our colleagues in Skopje to the fact that hate speech does not help this process, even in our dialogue, which should be based on the Treaty of [friendship,] goodneighbourliness [and cooperation]. As a wise EU Member state, we are exercising the necessary restraint on our emotions and reactions to the jokes of our colleagues from North Macedonia, who may have their reasons because of the upcoming [local] elections in autumn." 

"We are not an EU Member State… But, at the same time, it is a fact that we have communication with many of our friends, friends of the region, friends of Europe, because anyone who wants to succeed on our path to full membership is ultimately a friend of Europe. This is a process that is important for us, but also for the EU itself, to close this void that exists in terms of the Western Balkans. We, with our commitment, as a government ... will do our utmost to send out a call for reason and awareness within the European institutions.  It is up to us to continue with our clear positions so that no one, within the EU, has dilemmas about our positions. Let's talk about what harm would be done if the European Parliament were allowed to join the process of creating a new Macedonian identity, a modern Macedonian identity, and how inappropriate this act is for the EU itself, that is, for everything it stands for - respect for diversity, respect for the different characteristics of identity and cultural variations existing within the EU," Mucunski said.

"What we are actively doing, as an EU candidate country, is pursuing a real discourse within all European institutions for realizing what has been done to this country [North Macedonia] for more than 30 years, but also what is being done now, at this time of real turbulence," the Foreign Minister pointed out. "We want a way forward towards the EU, we want to discuss compromise, but we want foresight and guarantees," he added.

"This is why we call for rationality and awareness of the responsibility we all bear together towards our region and our continent," Mucunski went on to say.