Bulgaria notes with concern the latest fabricated theses of the authorities in Skopje, which sharply diverge from the essence of the European Consensus of 2022. This is stated in a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The reaction comes after the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, accused Bulgaria of objecting to the Action Plan for Minorities because it is in Macedonian.
The question of what language the Community Rights Plan expected from North Macedonia should be in is internal to the neighboring country and is not a topic of bilateral relations. The document will be implemented by its institutions towards its own citizens and it is logical that it be in a language accessible to them. Skopje's choice to present the draft of this plan to its citizens in English is difficult to explain, especially if the plan is planned to be actually implemented. We recall that the Community Rights Plan is a step intended to follow the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution, which is still pending and which will allow our neighbors to open accession negotiations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.
On Sunday, Mickoski accused Bulgaria of objecting to the Action Plan for Minorities of the Republic of Macedonia because it is in Macedonian. The Action Plan for the Protection of Minorities is part of the process of North Macedonia's integration into the EU.
We welcome the words of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski that he "will accept in the Plan all other remarks" of the Bulgarian community and we count on him to keep this promise to them, the ministry concluded.