site.btaMEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk Says Bulgaria’s Interest, EU Criteria Coincide on North Macedonia

Bulgarian national interest and EU criteria coincide on North Macedonia, MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk of Renew Europe/MRF said in written comments to BTA on Wednesday.

Kyuchyuk was commenting on current issues related to the European Commission’s progress reports on Western Balkan countries’ EU path, draft resolutions on which the European Parliament is due to vote on Wednesday, and on bilateral relations between Sofia and Skopje.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the European Parliament’s draft resolutions on the 2025 annual progress reports for seven EU candidate countries, BTA sought comment from Bulgarian MEPs from all political groups and all Bulgarian parties represented in the European Parliament.

Commenting on the European Commission’s reports on the Western Balkans, Kyuchyuk said they sent a clear message: “The door of the European Union remains open, but integration can no longer be seen as an automatic process.” He said candidate countries were expected to deliver tangible results on the rule of law, judicial independence, the fight against corruption and the protection of fundamental rights.

“The European Union recognizes that the stability of the Western Balkans is an integral part of its own security. That is why enlargement today is not only a political project but also a geostrategic one. Bulgaria’s role is particularly important. We are not merely a neighbour of the region but a Member State with historical, cultural and economic ties with all Western Balkan countries. Bulgaria must actively support the region’s European perspective, because European integration means more stability, connectivity and security for Southeast Europe as a whole,” Kyuchyuk said. He added that Bulgaria’s support cannot be unconditional and must be based on the principle that commitments are honoured and European values apply equally to all.

Asked about Bulgaria’s position and the balance between support for North Macedonia’s European perspective and the protection of Bulgarian national interests, Kyuchyuk said: “Regarding North Macedonia, such a balance is entirely possible and is in fact built into the European decisions of recent years. Bulgaria does not dispute North Macedonia’s European future. On the contrary, we have consistently supported its European integration. At the same time, the European process cannot be separated from the principle that commitments undertaken must be fulfilled. In this case, this concerns both the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation and the commitments included in the European negotiating framework, including the inclusion of Bulgarians in North Macedonia’s Constitution as a state-founding people.”

“This is not a choice between Europe and Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s national interests and European criteria coincide in this case. Protecting the rights of the Bulgarian community, combating hate speech and fulfilling international commitments are part of European standards themselves,” Kyuchyuk said.

Asked about the arson attack on Bulgarian diplomatic vehicles in Skopje, Kyuchyuk said such incidents do not help relations between Sofia and Skopje, adding that they are fuelled by actions and rhetoric that encourage them.

“Relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia are in a complex and sensitive period. On the one hand, there are objective conditions for cooperation in the economy, infrastructure, energy, education and cultural exchange. On the other, political and historical disputes persist and are often used for domestic political purposes. Unfortunately, incidents and provocations such as the arson attack on diplomatic vehicles in recent days do not help the process but make it more difficult.”

“Whatever the specific motive, such incidents do not occur in a vacuum. They take place in an environment in which similar acts and rhetoric encouraging them have been observed too often in recent years. That is why the question is not only who set fire to the cars, but whether the institutions and political leaders in the two countries are doing enough to curb the atmosphere of confrontation. North Macedonia’s European future and good-neighbourly relations with Bulgaria are not two separate processes. They are part of the same strategic task: building a region in which historical disputes are resolved through dialogue, not confrontation, and in which European values are proven by actions, not merely declarations,” Kyuchyuk said.