During the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (KOREPER) in Brussels, Bulgaria presented a unilateral declaration, reports the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The conclusion of it should be that Bulgaria do not recognize the Macedonian language in Skopje. But judge for yourself:
“”Referring to paragraph 7 of the Council Conclusions on [Enlargement – North Macedonia and Albania] of [July 2022],
Referring to paragraph 22 of the Negotiating Framework for the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU and its reference to the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia, according to its Constitution, as the language for the translation of EU legislation,
With this declaration, Bulgaria confirms the following:
The Bulgarian literary language has six regional written norms (codifications). Three of them are based on dialects, and three on the literary Bulgarian language. The creation of the “Macedonian language” in 1944-1945 in the former Yugoslavia was an act of secondary codification (re-codification) based on the Bulgarian literary language, further “enriched” with local forms, thus simulating a “natural” process based on dialectal form.
Any reference to the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia in official/unofficial documents/positions/statements and others of the EU and its institutions, bodies, offices and agencies must be understood strictly in accordance with the Constitution of this country and must in no way is interpreted as recognition by the Republic of Bulgaria of the “Macedonian language”.
Bulgaria continues to adhere to the language clause contained in the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, signed in Skopje on August 1, 2017 between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, for the purposes of bilateral treaties/agreements/memorandums and others between the two countries” , the statement said.
