The essence of the dispute between Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria has nothing to do with the European integration process. The EU is a system that embraces diversity and multiperspectivity. This has nothing to do with meeting the Copenhagen political and economic criteria. He deals with issues that are entirely internal, the problems of the country, because language is a right that derives from the right of the country to self-determination. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, at a forum of The Economist magazine in Skopje, the local newspaper Sloboden Pechat writes.
“As far as the language issue is concerned, we currently have proposals from the German and Portuguese presidencies (of the Council of the EU), as well as Slovenian, which is still an active proposal and we think it is a good basis for finding a solution. I recently saw a passage from a narrative that supports the idea of imposing absolute truth and interfering with the right of people to accept this story and the 5 + 1 proposal at the last meeting to introduce the Bulgarian community into our Constitution, so everyone has the right to defend its culture, identity and historical facts, “Osmani said.
Respect for human rights and non-discrimination are fundamental principles underlying the European Union and must therefore be a guiding criterion in EU enlargement policy.
This was stated by President Rumen Radev at a meeting with the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Garlic-Radman, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria. Rumen Radev and Gordan Garlic-Radman were unanimous that in the interest of the stability of the Balkans, the European perspective of the countries in the region is of key importance, but in fulfilling all the criteria for enlargement. The Bulgarian head of state stressed that the inclusion of the countries in the region and the establishment of democratic values in the Balkans is important not only for a united Europe, but above all in the interest of all citizens in the region. Rumen Radev noted as alarming the cases of discrimination and systematic violation of the human rights of the citizens of the Republic of Northern Macedonia with Bulgarian identity. The President expressed support for their desire to be included among the parts of nations listed in the preamble of the Constitution of the RNM, as well as their expectations for objective coverage of the results of the country’s census.
“It is important for us that young people from the RSM do not instill hatred towards Bulgarians,” the president said, citing textbooks in our southwestern neighbor, which still have distorted interpretations of Bulgaria and Bulgarians.
During the conversation of Dondukov 2, the head of state and the guest highlighted the excellent bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Croatia, the opportunities for expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as the recent cultural and historical heritage.
