site.btaBulgaria's Foreign Policy Committee Chair Urges North Macedonia to Honour Commitments Assumed on Path to EU

Bulgaria’s National Assembly Foreign Policy Committee Chair Yordanka Fandakova on Wednesday urged North Macedonia to heed the European Parliament (EP) call for the country to honour the commitments it has assumed on the path of European integration.

Fandakova wrote in a Facebook post: “I address the authorities in Skopje with an urgent appeal to stop wasting valuable time and effort on populism and to promptly fulfil their commitments to the EU, including adding the Bulgarians [of North Macedonia] as an equal people in all relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. Find the strength at last to put a definitive end to the anti-Bulgarian policies that bring no benefit to your country.”

The call came after the latest EP report on North Macedonia’s progress on the path to EU membership was adopted in Strasbourg earlier on Wednesday. References to language and identity, which had caused tension in Bulgaria, were removed from the report.

According to Fandakova, the report highlights existing problems and underlines the need for North Macedonia to honour its commitments on the path to European integration. She expressed her appreciation to the MEPs who supported the amendments to the report and did not allow it to be used for the populist goals of North Macedonia’s ruling authorities.

"I extend special thanks to the Bulgarian MEPs for their unified and principled stance, which led to these key changes, and for their ongoing work, which I know does not end here," Fandakova added.

She also emphasized the significance of the presence in the EP plenary chamber of Ljupcho Georgievski, chair of a cultural club in Bitola, which was shut down by the authorities of North Macedonia. Georgievski received a one-year suspended sentence for quoting a historical figure on Facebook. “He is yet another symbol of the fight for human rights in present-day North Macedonia — for the right to identify as Bulgarian — a cause that Bulgaria will never abandon,” wrote Fandakova.

“Bulgaria remains a consistent supporter of the European perspective of the citizens of North Macedonia. However, for the country to move on to the next major step, it is their government that must fulfil its obligations to the EU. I hope civil society will push for this to happen as soon as possible,” Fandakova concluded.