site.btaReport on North Macedonia's Progress towards EU Membership Discussed in Strasbourg

The report of the European Parliament (EP) on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia towards EU membership was discussed on Tuesday in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

The rapporteur for the country in the EP, Thomas Waitz, said during his opening speech before the debate that the Republic of North Macedonia is a multi-ethnic country with people of different faiths who have built a peaceful society.

He stressed that when the accession process started, the country was leading the process on a par with Slovenia, but today, 20 years later, because of various obstacles, including history and building good neighbourly relations, the country has not yet officially started negotiations. Waitz said good neighbourly relations depended on both sides.

According to Waitz, North Macedonia is a reliable partner of the European Union, sharing a common foreign and security policy as well as its values.

Waitz mentioned the need for further reforms, underlining the key necessity of including Bulgarians in the country's Constitution as a condition for the start of substantive negotiations.

He also touched on several other elements where further action is needed, such as fighting corruption and hate speech, limiting foreign influence, transparency in the media and others.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos noted that this is the first progress report on the Republic of North Macedonia's European path in the last three years. She added that this is an unequivocal message that the EU supports the country's EU integration and sets the conditions for the process to move forward.

Kos also referred to the implementation of constitutional changes as a key condition for the formal start of accession negotiations, adding that other steps were also needed, such as reform of public administration, respect for citizens' rights, including freedom of expression and media freedom, and the fight against corruption.

The European Parliament’s draft report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia on its path to the EU caused tension in Bulgaria due to the references to "Macedonian language" and "Macedonian identity."

It was approved by the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee on June 24 this year with 40 votes in favor, 19 against, and 10 abstentions. At that time, the committee did not allow an oral amendment from the European People's Party (EPP) group to add the adjective "modern" before "Macedonian language and identity." The groups of the EPP, the Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, and the Greens announced that before the expected vote on the report in the plenary in Strasbourg in July, they would submit the same amendment in writing.

Andrzej Halicki (EPP), Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D), and Dan Barna (Renew Europe) submitted written amendments aiming to delete mentions of the language and identity in the report.

Regarding the phrase "Macedonian language and identity" in the draft report, Taisi Reiten (S&D) stated: "They exist and Parliament must recognize that."

Afroditi Latinopoulou (Patriots for Europe), Maria Zacharia (independent MEP), and Jadis Yadi (ECR) stated that the historical-geographical region Macedonia "is Greek." Latinopoulou said that the reaction of the Bulgarians is right, that it is a fact that the language spoken in Skopje is a Bulgarian dialect and that the people there are Bulgarians. History must be recognized as it is. Macedonia is one and it is Greek, said she.

Zacharia argued that there is no Macedonian nation and it has never existed.

Jadis Yadi (ECR) condemned "all attempts to create a false Macedonian identity" and stated that peoples are not fabricated in this way but are formed based on language, as Herodotus said.

Irena Joveva (Renew Europe) stated that this report is not about the right of existence of the Macedonian language and nation, adding that she would not vote to delete this phrase. According to her, the Macedonian identity will not disappear by deleting it from one law and with one vote.

Konstantinos Arvanitis (The Left) stated that the accession process of the Republic of North Macedonia depends on the Prespa Agreement (between Greece and North Macedonia, concerning the country's name change from "Macedonia" to "North Macedonia," which came into effect in February 2019). He said there should be no attempts to undermine this agreement and added that accession to the EU depends on fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria "without double standards."

What the Bulgarian MEPs said

Bulgarian MEP Ivaylo Valchev (ECR/ITN) called on the current government in the Republic of North Macedonia "to abandon its masters from Belgrade, from Budapest, and to defend human rights, especially of the suffering Bulgarian community, as well as to respect the commitments it has undertaken," in order to move forward on the path to the EU.

He addressed the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia with the words: "Including Bulgarians in all relevant parts of the constitution and respecting the 2017 friendship, good neighborliness, and cooperation treaty with Bulgaria, and the negotiation framework will not threaten your identity. However, any delay in the reforms with which you will start membership negotiations will do exactly that," Valchev added.

Stanislav Stoyanov (EPP/Vazrazhdane) said the process of drafting the annual report on the Republic of North Macedonia was marked by serious violations such as leaks of internal information, indications of external interference, and disregard for the rules of the European Parliament.

"Even before becoming a member of the European Union, the authorities in Skopje are already exerting pressure, violating ethical norms and parliamentary procedures. This compromises its work and cannot go unanswered. Regardless of tomorrow’s vote outcome, we will insist that the investigation of these violations be brought to an end."

Stoyanov said that for the first time, the EP is attempting to recognize someone's identity and language, which is beyond its powers and sets a dangerous precedent.

"And most importantly: in Bulgaria and North Macedonia lives one people who speak one language – Bulgarian. Over 216,000 citizens of North Macedonia – about 12 percent of the population – have proven with documents their Bulgarian origin and on this basis have received Bulgarian citizenship, and their number continues to grow. We are one people," concluded Stoyanov.

Andrey Kovatchev (EPP/GERB) recalled that citizens of North Macedonia have been waiting for their deserved EU membership for over two decades.

"Apparently, politicians in Skopje are not in a hurry and systematically sabotage this process. Instead of reforms and real progress, we see populism, nationalist rhetoric, and convenient portrayal of Bulgaria as the enemy, because of whom the country's European integration does not move forward. This policy leads to direct repression against people who have preserved their Bulgarian self-awareness, descendants of the majority Macedonian Bulgarians. They are subjected to pressure, discrimination, open threats, as in the case of Mr. (Lupcho) Georgievski – one of the most prominent representatives of the Bulgarian community there, who is here today in the hall," said Kovachev.

He added that the EU cannot turn a blind eye to this and "must stop the violation of the rights of its own citizens because of their ethnicity, and sharing the truth about history should not lead to judicial persecutions."

Kovatchev stated that the biggest guarantee for the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU is the implementation of the Council conclusions adopted in 2022 and the negotiation framework.

"We have said that there will be no other conditions than those listed above (including Bulgarians in the constitution of the RSM). I urgently call on the political elite of this beautiful country to stop wasting their fellow citizens’ time and to start the negotiation process. We will welcome you with open arms in the European Union. The fate of your citizens, dear politicians, is in your hands," Kovachev said.

Hristo Petrov (Renew Europe/PP-DB) said that in politics there are people who are there to do something good and those who are there because they have nowhere else to go. "It depends on all of us whom among them we allow to represent us: whether those who look to our joint European future or those who invent a past in which we were separate (Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia). Intelligent people in North Macedonia deserve to be part of the European Union. And politicians who feed on hate deserve to be left to starve," Petrov said.

"The Republic of North Macedonia clearly does not meet the conditions to start membership negotiations with the European Union," said Bulgarian MEP Petar Volgin (EPP/"Vazrazhdane").

"The rights of minorities in this country are not respected, representatives of the Bulgarian minority are subjected to judicial and extrajudicial persecutions, and crimes against Bulgarians often remain either unpunished or receive symbolic penalties. Adding to this are the brazen thefts of Bulgarian history and Bulgarian cultural heritage by the authorities in Skopje, it becomes clear why this country does not deserve membership in the EU," said Volgin, asking, "Then why do senior EU officials insist so much that Skopje start membership negotiations?"

"The reason is the same as why Bulgaria was ordered to join the eurozone. The euro-bosses want to show that their organizations are still desired, that despite all the crises shaking the European Union, there are countries eager to be part of it," Volgin added.

However, he argued, turning a blind eye to obvious violations of European rules by candidate countries "is not a recipe for the prosperity of a union but evidence of its decline."

"Bulgaria wants your country to be a member of the European Union. Whatever they tell you, Bulgarians and Bulgarian MEPs are you friends," said Kristian Vigenin (S&D/BSP). 

He called on the authorities in Skopje to stop creating a parallel reality in their country, to stop seeking excuses and justifications, and to invest efforts in the common European future.

"You cannot erase the facts from the past, but together we can create the facts of our European future. Change the constitution, respect the rights of Bulgarians, accept them equally with representatives of other peoples, and give a chance to good neighborliness," Vigenin said. Regarding the scandals and comments around the report on the Republic of North Macedonia, he called on MEPs to act more carefully in the future and "for the EP not to open issues it cannot solve."

Iliya Lazarov (EPP/SDS) said that in a progress report on any candidate country there is no place to talk about identity and language, especially when it concerns a multiethnic country like the Republic of North Macedonia.

"The task of such a report is to talk about progress in fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria and undertaken commitments, as well as respect for human rights. Who someone feels they are or what language they speak is their right, but this has no place in this report because it causes tension and division and violates its functional integrity," Lazarov said.

"Bulgaria supports the full membership of the Republic of North Macedonia in the European Union and has a long history of support," said Nikola Minchev (Renew Europe/PP-DB). However, according to him, the current government of the Republic of North Macedonia places serious emphasis in its policy on anti-Bulgarian rhetoric and actions and clearly does not seek progress in European integration but rather a convenient excuse to keep things stalled.

He added that if Skopje fulfills its commitments, Bulgaria will gladly accept the country into the EU.

Independent MEP Branislav Ondrus condemned "all attempts to eliminate the Macedonian nation," mentioning statements like "Macedonia is Greek or Macedonia is Bulgarian." He called on MEPs to stop using secessionist positions and encouraging nationalism.

Andreas Schieder (S&D) called on the ruling party in North Macedonia to take the necessary steps for EU accession and for Bulgarian politicians not to block the process but to work together with the country toward this goal.