site.btaVP Iotova Urges Skopje to "Have Deeper Understanding of European Values"

At a roundtable discussion in Kyustendil, titled Bulgarians in the Balkans beyond the border after 1878. The code of Survival, Vice President Iliana Iotova urged North Macedonia to have "a deeper understanding of the European values, because the main first chapter [in EU accession talks] is fundamental rights, which accompany the whole negotiation process". She added that the accession talks will not be finished if any country believes that human rights of representatives of different nations and ethnicities, are not respected.

Representatives of the Bulgarian communities from Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Romania, Turkiye, Serbia and the Republic of North Macedonia took part in the event, which was held under the patronage of the Vice President.

"Aggression is unforgivable, not only verbal, but also when the violence masks a persistent and deeply flawed concept and, even more, a failure to implement international commitments already made", Iotova said, adding that she was referring to North Macedonia, "where, unfortunately, in recent years - instead of good neighborliness - it is a paradox, but it is a fact, instead of a signed treaty and its implementation, which bears the resounding words 'Good Neighborliness' in its name, we seem to be going in the opposite direction". The Vice President said it is "unacceptable for a country to tolerate disregard of human rights, the trampling of the right to expression, to say who you are and where you come from and what your background is".

She pointed that Bulgaria has never had such a language. "We Bulgarians have never been brought up to curse our neighbours, to have claims - territorial, linguistic, cultural and so on, so I very much hope this will soon become a fact in the countries that surround us", Iotova stressed, expressing hope that North Macedonia, which was first recognized by Bulgaria [as an independent state], would progress more confidently on its path to the EU. She added that this would only be possible if Skopje keeps its international promises and abandons the hate speech.

Iotova also said that she had seen the documents and declaration for Bulgarian citizenship of North Macedonia's Minister of Energy Sanja Bozinovska, in which she states her Bulgarian origin.

The roundtable project, which was presented on Thursday in Kyustendil, explores Bulgarian communities in the Balkans from the past to the present day, highlighting contemporary issues and perspectives.