“We will not allow our common history with the Republic of North Macedonia to be stolen, nor will we give in and will insist that the rights of Bulgarians in Macedonia be guaranteed and respected. The Macedonian Prime Minister is creating a parallel reality and depriving the citizens of his country of their European future.“ This was stated by the head of the Delegation of the Bulgarian Socialists in the European Parliament and a member of the BSP EB, Kristian Vigenin, in the program “Nedelya150“ on the Bulgarian National Radio. He noted that the Bulgarian MEPs have prevented the danger of the RSM's progress report on EU accession being taken on board. Vigenin said that in the attempt to introduce the topic of the Macedonian language and identity at the last minute, the rapporteurs themselves felt used by Mickoski for his domestic political propaganda. The MEP believes that the tension surrounding the report has helped Bulgarian MEPs and institutions to better explain our national position.
„Bulgaria is a solid country and we should not enter into the defiant tone of insults that the politicians in the Macedonian Parliament maintain. It is worth trying to speak not so much to the rulers in North Macedonia, but directly to the citizens of the country. We also need to make more efforts to explain our point of view to our partners in the European Union“, Vigenin added. „There are causes behind which we can unite. The National Assembly adopted a unanimous decision on North Macedonia, this gave additional strength to our national Bulgarian position in the European Parliament, which helped us achieve our goal. When we are united, we succeed and have more solid positions abroad“, the MEP emphasized.
On the topic of the series of no-confidence votes against the government in Bulgaria, Kristian Vigenin commented that there are other ways to raise important topics: “No-confidence votes aim either to unite the opposition or to consolidate public energy behind an important issue. We see none of this in the recent votes. The only thing they achieve is to waste parliament's time and create political instability.“ The MEP commented that topics such as judicial reform and economic development are not subject to discussion, but they are very important for the country. “The introduction of the euro requires us to concentrate on actions for a calmer and smoother transition with maximum benefit for citizens and the state“, he also recommended. Christian Vigenin believes that the government can try to unite the opposition behind important national issues in order to have more stability.
For contact with the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP: https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/
