The inclusion of Bulgarians in the RSM constitution will significantly accelerate the country's path to the EU and I hope that our southwestern neighbor will do this as soon as possible in order to open the door to negotiations for full membership. This was stated by the Head of State Rumen Radev at a meeting at the presidential institution today with representatives of organizations of the Bulgarian community in the RSM. The meeting was attended by representatives of organizations from the cities of Bitola, Ohrid, Skopje, Prilep, Kavadarci and Kocani.
During the meeting, the head of state emphasized 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 RSM will happen as soon as possible, but this cannot be at the expense of the rights of the Bulgarian community in the country“, emphasized Rumen Radev. In this regard, the head of state expressed hope that the authorities in the RSM would implement the European compromise of 2022 as soon as possible and include Bulgarians in their constitution.
The President reminded that it was the Bulgarians from our southwestern neighbor 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 organizations expressed hope that the RSM would not use the Bulgarian community as an alibi for not carrying out the necessary reforms that lead the country to the EU. They categorically declared themselves against the idea of constitutional changes with deferred effect or other conditionalities, because it is about guaranteeing basic human rights. The representatives of the Bulgarian organizations also emphasized 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 North Macedonia 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 under this Plan.
The representatives of the Bulgarian organizations called on the media in Bulgaria not to engage only in cases of the most severe attacks against our compatriots in the RSM, 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 neighbor to study at Bulgarian universities, which is extremely important for contacts between young people from the two countries.