In December last year, there were “serious initiatives from several EU member states, and from the larger and more influential ones, together with the EU leadership to organize a meeting” between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia Timcho Mucunski and his Bulgarian counterpart Georg Georgiev, but there was no positive response from the Bulgarian side. Mucunski announced this in an interview with TV Sitel, BTA reported.
“And these days, at the initiative of Brussels, there is an initiative to organize a meeting. I will say again that we are available when the other side is prepared, to exchange our arguments. We are worried that even if the changes are made to the constitution (to include the Bulgarian community in the basic law), our country will again be put in the same position due to issues related to identity, history and language. Let us express our concern about the failure of neighboring Bulgaria to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights... It takes two to make a decision. It takes trust to make a decision, it takes discussion in the spirit of European values. Our government is prepared today, tomorrow and any day to have such a discussion. Regardless of the outcome of the elections in Sofia,” said Mucunski.
In response to a question about whether more creative solutions are being sought to resolve the issue of the inclusion of Bulgarians in the country's constitution - a condition in the negotiating framework of North Macedonia, Mucunski replied that whenever he discusses with representatives of the EU and the EC, “there are attempts to find some solution”.
”I cannot share them, because the moment I do, they will be rejected by the other side. But there are a few ideas. What our citizens need to know is that several fundamental issues are key for us. To put an end to our national concessions, which are based on our identity - language, culture and history. Not only to neighboring Bulgaria, but to any other country. Also, our expectations are that our minorities who live outside our borders, especially those in EU member states, will be treated as Europeans. Because this government, as you see, cares about the Macedonian national minorities... Who would have the right to deny your language and identity and culture. Who could challenge someone's right to clarify where they come from and what their identity is. Within these European values, if there is goodwill and trust, a solution can be found”, said Mucunski.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, the focus of North Macedonia's European integration is “on the domestic agenda”, the laws that need to be changed due to the necessary reforms. Among the country's commitments is the preparation of an Action Plan on the Rights of Minorities and Communities in North Macedonia - a document that Mucunski described as “very good”, for which the country has received congratulations ” from many EU member states”.
“Unfortunately, perhaps because of the period - Bulgaria is in an election process - we saw an incorrect attitude of Bulgaria towards the Plan, a document prepared by leading experts. I almost used a harsher word (than incorrect), but let's not give them a weapon to use in the campaign in Sofia. This is not a plan for the rights of the Bulgarian minority in the country, but an Action Plan for expanding and upgrading the rights of minorities in the country, within the highest European standards. But Sofia behaved as it behaved. We must focus on our homework and at the same time be proactive in finding a solution”, concluded Mucunski.