Deep concerns in Skopje after EP removes references to “Macedonian language and identity”. Prime Minister Mickoski speaks of shameful act, opposition holds current government accountable, while Sofia celebrates “historic victory”
The European Parliament’s decision to adopt the progress report on North Macedonia without references to the “Macedonian language and identity” has sparked strong political reactions in the country and has significantly deepened tensions with Bulgaria. MEPs voted with 461 votes “for”, 121 “against” and 107 “abstentions” in favor of the report prepared by special rapporteur Thomas Weiz. However, the change in the content of the document, by deleting terms related to national identity, has caused a fortune in the political scene of Skopje.
MICKOSKI: THE FRENCH PROPOSAL IS HARMFUL
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that this is a direct attack on the Macedonian identity and language and that this clearly shows that the acceptance of the French proposal in 2022 was a strategic mistake. “The citizens of Macedonia saw that the agreement reached in 2022, or how to say the acceptance of the proposal at that time, does not only represent a change in the preamble and the inclusion of a Bulgarian minority in it, but the problem is much deeper, and that is the denial of the language and identity of one of the smallest nations in Europe by Bulgaria. This is an unprecedented act. It is anything but a European value and I cannot accept how the MEPs who voted to remove the Macedonian language and identity from the report will sleep soundly. Meanwhile, we are grateful to those who voted against or those who abstained,” stressed Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
ROKAS: IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE ARE NOT PART OF THE NEGOTIATING FRAMEWORK
The EU Ambassador to Skopje, Michalis Rokas, positively assessed the European Parliament Report, saying that it provides support for the country’s integration and reform process, especially reforms in the judiciary, the fight against corruption and other challenges facing the country. Regarding the controversial articles in the report on identity and language, he said that the European Parliament is an independent institution that makes political decisions in accordance with internal procedures.
“The most important thing is to emphasize that identity and language are not part of the negotiating framework. Identity and language are better protected with full EU membership,” Rokas said.
SDSM: THE LANGUAGE ISSUE WAS CLOSED
On the other hand, the opposition SDSM reacted harshly to the re-actualization of the issue of identity and language, considering this a step backward and unacceptable. This party accuses the current government, which according to SDSM opened this topic unnecessarily. “This debate is closed and the Macedonian language has been recognized as an official status in the integration process. Now we must ask: who opened this topic again and for what reason?”, declared Minister Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska.
DUI: REPORT, ALARMING INDICTMENT ABOUT THE DIRECTION THE COUNTRY HAS TAKEN
For the DUI, the latest report by MEP Thomas Wejc to the European Parliament is an alarming indictment of the direction North Macedonia has taken under the ZNAM-VMRO-VLEN coalition government. As the party based in Rečica e Vogel says, the report confirms what the DUI has been warning for months, that the country is turning into a laboratory for the most destructive anti-Western influences on the continent.
“According to the report, Macedonia has become a free field for Russian propaganda, dark Chinese economic influence and the transmission of these influences through political and media networks linked to the “Serbian world”. Hungary and Serbia play a mediating role, strengthening the authoritarian presence and undermining the country’s Euro-Atlantic course. Propaganda against the European Union, disseminated through local media, uses identity fears to present integration as a threat, not as hope. Furthermore, the report raises concerns about old secret service networks that may be infiltrated and linked to foreign interests”, the DUI response states. The party further adds that instead of a serious response, this Government is silent. Instead of protecting the institutional sovereignty and the country’s Western orientation, it allows North Macedonia to slide into isolation and instrumentalization.
DIMITRIEVSKI: WE NEED NATIONAL UNITY
Meanwhile, the government partner, the ZNAM movement, through its leader, Maksim Dimitrievski, called yesterday’s event “painful and unfair”, adding that Macedonians cannot negotiate for their identity. “We want EU membership, but not in exchange for denying ourselves. I don’t want the EU without Macedonians”, said Dimitrievski. The ZNAM leader accused Bulgaria of a policy of cultural aggression and historical falsification, while the European Union of tolerating the policy of revanchism coming from Sofia.
“If the EU allows one of its members, such as Bulgaria, to turn negotiations into a tool for historical revanchism, then it allows a union where the weak are victims, while the strong rewrite the identity of their neighbor,” Dimitrievski declared. He also criticized past governments, citing agreements reached without public consultation and describing them as acts of betrayal.
IN SOFIA, AN ATMOSPHERE OF TRIUMPH
Across the border, an atmosphere of triumph prevailed in Sofia. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said that by removing references to the Macedonian language and identity, Bulgaria had prevented Skopje from using the EP for domestic propaganda. “North Macedonia is only a candidate, while we are EU members. They should take this into account,” he stressed, adding that Mickoski was using a “PR crisis” to cover up his failures.
The potential of the Bulgarian “victory” was also emphasized by the Vice President of the state, Iliana Yotova, who thanked the MEPs and said that this proves that when Bulgaria acts united, it achieves strategic successes. According to her, the exclusion of the terms of Macedonian identity from the report is clear evidence that Sofia has real influence in Brussels.
In an official response, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry stated that the EP avoided getting involved in North Macedonia’s efforts to circumvent its obligations under the 2022 “European compromise”. “Issues of identity and language should be addressed within the framework of academic and scientific debate, not institutional reports,” the Bulgarian MFA statement said. Meanwhile, the author of the report, MEP Thomas Waitz, expressed disappointment with the deletion of references to Macedonian identity and language, stressing that these issues should not be the subject of discussion on the path to integration. (koha.mk)
