„Few people understood that yesterday in the European Parliament the discussion of the latest report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia towards membership in the European Union literally went on in a huff.“.
With this significant emphasis, the chairman of „Vazrazhdane“ Kostadin Kostadinov began his declaration from the parliamentary rostrum, who sharply criticized the lack of state reaction and the passivity of Bulgarian diplomacy in one of the most important geopolitical issues for our country - the enlargement of the EU to North Macedonia and the protection of the rights of Bulgarians there.
In his lengthy speech, he outlined a systematic neglect of the Bulgarian national interest by the ruling party. He stressed that the Bulgarian MEPs, and only a small part of them, are fighting an "uneven battle on uneven terrain", while the Macedonian delegation enjoys constant lobbying pressure, access to draft reports and broad diplomatic support. "While the Macedonian Foreign Minister has been to Brussels three times in recent weeks, Bulgaria has not sent a delegation on the topic once", Kostadinov stressed.
He was particularly harsh on the acting Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, whom he accused of "behaving like a Ukrainian, sometimes Israeli, but never like a Bulgarian Foreign Minister". At the same time, while the representatives of Macedonia speak from the stages of international forums in Munich and Washington, Bulgarian state representatives are completely absent: “It is not that Bulgarian state representatives have not been there, but, as is well known, they go to Brussels simply to be patted on the back, to have their picture taken in a general crowd, somewhere in the fourth row, near the ficus, and then they leave, explaining to the Bulgarian media along the way how well they were received and how our position weighs in Brussels. It weighs nothing.“
The chairman of “Vazrazhdane“ recalled that Bulgaria has helped the Macedonian people more than once – in energy crises, in disasters such as the tragedy in Kochani – and has always acted with an open heart. “We will continue to help, because Macedonia is the second Bulgarian state in the Balkans, because the people there are our brothers – speak our language, live with our traditions, but are systematically subjected to pressure, discrimination, beatings and judicial terror.“
He gave an example of the continuous threats, arsons, arrests and death threats to which those who define themselves as Bulgarians in North Macedonia are subjected, with complete inaction on the part of the Bulgarian state. “The state reacts once, out of obligation, without a system, without a strategy. And we are a member of the European Union - where are the mechanisms with which to insist on the protection of our compatriots?“
Kostadinov also recalled how in 2008 he presented to the European Parliament the reissued “Almanac Macedonia“ from 1931, containing objective historical, cultural and ethnographic information, including the lack of a “Macedonian nation“ at that time. The then Bulgarian Foreign Ministry described the book as “problematic” and attempted to block its presentation – something he described as indicative of our foreign policy complex.
At the end of his speech, Kostadin Kostadinov emphasized that despite the anti-Bulgarian rhetoric of the political elite in Skopje, Bulgaria would continue to support the Macedonians – not as a gesture to their government, but as a duty to history, cultural memory and the fraternal people. But he warned: “if our MEPs do not protect the national interest, in the absence of executive power, this will be another grave national betrayal“.
“The Macedonians are not our enemies. Our enemies are the political elites who build an identity on hatred for Bulgaria. We have been a member of the European Union for almost 20 years, and we behave like scumbags who were brought in by mercy. This must simply be stopped once and for all.“, concluded Kostadinov.