We hope that the RNM will stop using the Bulgarian community as an alibi to not carry out the reforms leading our country towards the EU, representatives of the Bulgarian community in our southwestern neighbour urge at a meeting with the head of state
The inclusion of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) constitution will significantly accelerate the country's path to the EU and I hope that our southwestern neighbour will do this as soon as possible in order to open the door to negotiations for full membership. This was stated by Head of State Rumen Radev at a meeting at the presidential institution today with representatives of organisations of the Bulgarian community in the RNM. Representatives of organisations from the cities of Bitola, Ohrid, Skopje, Prilep, Kava arci and Kochani participated in the meeting.
The head of state emphasised that it is the duty of every democratic state to effectively protect the rights of all its citizens and guarantee their right to self-determination. We all hope that the integration of the RNM will happen as soon as possible, but this cannot happen at the expense of the rights of the Bulgarian community in the country, Radev stressed. In this regard, the head of state expressed hope that the RNM authorities will implement the European compromise of 2022 as soon as possible and include the Bulgarians in their constitution.
The President reminded that it was the Bulgarians from our southwestern neighbour who first raised the issue of effectively guaranteeing their rights in their own country, and today this is a common cause not only of all Bulgarian institutions, but also of the European Union.
The representatives of the Bulgarian organisations expressed hope that the RNM would not use the Bulgarian community as an alibi to not carry out the necessary reforms that lead the country to the EU. They categorically opposed the idea of constitutional changes with deferred effect or other conditionalities, because it is about guaranteeing basic human rights. The representatives of the Bulgarian organisations also emphasised that as loyal citizens of their country, they expect the institutions in Skopje to guarantee them equal rights and effective protection from discrimination.
They informed about their concerns regarding the ongoing process in Skopje of developing and adopting an Action Plan for the Protection of Community Rights, which is an important commitment of the RNM from the European compromise adopted in 2022. They drew particular attention to the fact that they were not included in the preparation of this plan from the very beginning, as well as the extremely short deadline in which they were suddenly called upon to provide assessments and proposals on this Plan.
The representatives of the Bulgarian organisations called on the media in Bulgaria not to engage only in cases of the most severe attacks against our compatriots in the RNM, but also with their cultural and public events, which are important for people on both sides of the border. They expressed hope that Bulgaria would encourage more students from our southwestern neighbour to study at Bulgarian universities, which is extremely important for contacts between young people from the two countries.