site.btaDeregistered Bulgarian Association Urges North Macedonia's PM to "Tell the Truth" about EP Report

The deregistered Ivan Mihailov Cultural Centre in Bitola has called on North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski to tell the public "the truth" about the European Parliament's conclusions on the country's progress to EU membership.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the association said the authorities in Skopje had long claimed that Bulgarians in North Macedonia did not exist, that their inclusion in the Constitution was "a Bulgarian dictate", and that the EU had never set such a condition for the country's accession to the Union. The association argued that the European Parliament's report disproves those claims by reaffirming that Bulgarians should be recognized in the Constitution as an equal constituent community.

The association also said the report finds the protection of minority rights in North Macedonia insufficient, calls for measures to guarantee equality, urges the resumption of the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and calls for the full implementation of the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation.

It also highlighted the European Parliament's call to open the archives of the former Yugoslav secret services UDBA (Uprava drzavne bezbednosti [State Security Administration]) and KOS (Kontraobavestajna sluzba [Counterintelligence Service]) in North Macedonia and Serbia, arguing that this is essential for establishing the truth about past repression.

According to the association, the report shows that the problem lies not with the Bulgarian community but with the authorities' failure to guarantee equal rights and fulfil the country's EU commitments. It warned that continued rejection of these conclusions would further delay North Macedonia's EU integration and harm all of its citizens, including those who self-identify as Bulgarians.