site.btaForeign Minister Georgiev Calls for Legal Support Fund for Bulgarians in North Macedonia

Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev said on Tuesday that a financial mechanism is needed to provide legal support for citizens of Bulgarian identity in the Republic of North Macedonia who face politically motivated court cases, discrimination and hate crimes.

Georgiev's comments came in a written response published on the National Assembly website to a question from a Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria MP Dzhipo Dzhipov about support for Bulgarian communities abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes consistent efforts to ensure legal protection for Bulgarians from the Republic of North Macedonia, including on high-profile cases such as that of Ljupcho Georgievski. The Bulgarian State, at the highest institutional level, remains steadfast in its support for Georgievski. The Ministry has closely followed the development of his court case from the very beginning, more than two years ago, Georgiev noted.

The Bulgarian side views the judicial proceedings against Georgievski as a politically motivated process. For Bulgaria, it is absolutely unacceptable to use institutional and judicial pressure as a means of repression against citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia who identify as Bulgarians and defend their identity. This position has been consistently and clearly communicated to all of Bulgaria’s international partners. Bulgarian institutions remain firmly committed to guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia, including by using all international mechanisms for the protection of human rights, Georgiev added.

In 2025, the budget foresees BGN 2,700,000 for the implementation of the Support Programme for organisations of Bulgarian communities in Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as for citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia of Bulgarian identity. Since the previous programme expired at the end of 2024, the Council of Ministers is due to approve a new programme for the period 2025–2029 as soon as possible. The new programme envisages a gradual annual increase of financial resources for supporting Bulgarian communities in these countries, the Foreign Minister also said.

In mid-June, the minister and Ljupcho Georgievski met, and Georgiev pointed out that the right to self-identification is a fundamental principle of the European Union and cannot be questioned.

Bulgaria considers the case against Ljupcho Georgievski, chair of the dissolved Ivan Mihaylov Cultural Club in Bitola, to be politically motivated, Foreign Minister Georgiev said following a meeting with Georgievski. The meeting was part of Bulgaria’s intensified efforts to protect the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia after Georgievski received a one-year suspended sentence and two years’ probation connected to his cultural work. Georgiev made clear that such state repression is unacceptable for a European country and affirmed Bulgaria’s unequivocal support for Georgievski’s right to self-identification, while Georgievski expressed gratitude and described his prosecution as an honour in defending Bulgarian heritage.