site.btaMeeting with Ljupco Georgievski, President Radev Says North Macedonia Should Act on Consensus on Inclusion of Bulgarians in Constituion as Soon as Possible

President Rumen Radev Friday said he expects the state leadership of the Republic of North Macedonia to implement as soon as possible the consensus achieved in July 2022 on the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution and to start implementing the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation, which is an integral part of the negotiating framework. Radev met with Ljupco Georgievski, Chairman of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club in Bitola, which was closed down by the authorities of the Republic of North Macedonia, the President's Press Secretariat said.

Georgievski expressed a hope for the earliest possible inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, which will provide constitutional safeguards of their rights, open up the country's path to the start of EU accession talks, and promote cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries.

This is an expected and important step towards full-fledged cooperation between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia and towards the entire region's stability and prosperity, Radev also said.

After his meetings during the 5th European Political Community Summit in Budapest, North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski Friday said he was even more optimistic about the EU path of the Republic of North Macedonia.

In 2023, a law was enacted in North Macedonia to retroactively regulate unacceptable names of associations and foundations. As a result, the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club, a Bulgarian association in North Macedonia, was removed from the Central Register in March 2023. Before this removal, the entrance door of the club's premises was set on fire, and an individual received a suspended sentence for that.