site.btaVazrazhdane Leader Kostadinov to North Macedonia: Inscribe Bulgarians in Constitution, or You Are Left out of EU Membership Talks

The decision for Albania to start its membership negotiations with the EU in substance, was logical and even belated, Bulgaria's Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov commented to journalists in the National Assembly in Sofia on Thursday. "Now, the Republic of North Macedonia has two paths to choose from: either it recognizes Bulgarians as one of the main state-forming components in the country and inscribes them in its Constitution, or it stays out of the membership negotiations with the EU," Kostadinov said. According to him, the latter option is what the power-holders in Skopje obviously want at present.

Kostadinov was commenting on a unanimous decision of Ambassadors of EU member states to decouple Albania from North Macedonia on the path to EU membership due to Skopje's disputes with Sofia, including Skopje's failure to protect the rights of ethnic Bulgarians in North Macedonia and to inscribe them in the country's Constitution.

Kostadinov commented that, given North Macedonia's refusal to meet the conditions of agreements it has signed with Bulgaria and the EU, it was necessary to make a decision. "If you do not want to observe the agreements, the other side will not honour its commitments to you either," he argued.

He noted that, on more than one occasion, North Macedonia has taken the liberty of acting outrageously and lobbying in the corridors of European institutions against supporting Bulgaria's efforts to ensure that the natural rights and freedoms of the Bulgarians in North Macedonia are protected.

"At the same time, Albania recognized the Bulgarian minority and provided guarantees for all constitutional rights for the Bulgarians as enjoyed by the other minorities there. Albania has shown that it is a normal European nation and deserves to be an EU member, and Vazrazhdane supports that," the party leader said.