A statement by Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs Anna Paula Zakarias that the dispute between Sofia and Skopje is difficult to resolve because “the northern Macedonian language was once part of the Bulgarian language” provoked a sharp reaction from Skopje. Today, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic stood behind Skopje, calling it “wrong and immoral” to challenge the language and identity not only of the people of a neighboring country, but of other countries as well.
“What would happen if Croatia questioned the Montenegrin or Bosnian language? It is difficult to take away someone’s right to call themselves by a certain name and call their language by a certain name,” Milanovic told a joint news conference with his colleague from the Republika Srpska. Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, reported the information site 360 degrees.
According to him, the Republic of Northern Macedonia and Albania have been kept “in an ugly way” at the door of the EU.
“Only politicians are worse than historians who deal with politicswho try to interpret historical epochs. I regret the profoundly erroneous statements made by the Portuguese Minister, who undermined the efforts of her counterpart in the same government, Augusto Santos Silva, which he had been making for months, to finally bring the Portuguese Presidency to a well-balanced proposal that took into account the vital interests of the Republic of Northern Macedonia. , and Bulgaria, “said President Pendarovski.
In response to a journalistic question about the statement of the Portuguese Minister of European Affairs Ana Zakarias Pendarovski, he also said that the good news is that the Portuguese presidency is over and from tomorrow, Slovenia will take over the six-month presidency of the EU.
“I hope that our friends from Slovenia will continue on the same path for the next six months, with due respect for the vital national interests of both countries,” Pendarovski said.
Milanovic assessed that all such issues are essentially domestic and stressed that in this case it is a question of the right to one’s own identity.
What did Anna Zakariash say?
Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs Ana Paula Zakarias, whose country will hand over the rotating Slovenian presidency on July 1st, said earlier this week that she expected it to help find a solution as a country in the same region, but stressed that Bulgaria’s position must be respected and disagreements must not be introduced in the EU. Minister Zakarias talks to journalists in Lisbon.
Anna Paula Zakarias described the debate between the two countries as “difficult” and stressed:
“This is a very difficult debate, especially for Bulgaria, it is about the history, the cultural identity of the two countries, as well as the future cooperation. They are currently working on something like a roadmap to help them work together, and for Bulgaria to There are guarantees that when Northern Macedonia joins the EU, things will go more smoothly.Northern Macedonia has gone through difficult negotiations with Greece – remember that this changed the name of the country.But it is very difficult because it is related to Bulgaria as well culture and language related to the language of Northern Macedonia, which was once part of the Bulgarian language and the cultural dimensions of both countries. There will be new elections in Bulgaria on July 11, and I think the Bulgarian authorities are waiting for their results before deciding how to act. “
Minister Zakarias called it an “important moment” not to bring disagreements between the two countries into the EU.
“We must respect the Bulgarian position and we have done that It is important that no disagreements or problems arise between the two countries in the EU. We want they should be decided before a country joins the European Union. That’s why we couldn’t start, because we had to give Bulgaria time to resolve this with Northern Macedonia before convening the intergovernmental conference. “
Minister Zakariash pointed out that and Bulgaria has been pressured to find a compromise.
“There is a balance here, so we put pressure on Bulgaria as well, because we had put a good proposal on the table – to consider, to see if it can work. We are also working with Northern Macedonia and trying to see if the time comes, in which to agree on the issue. But this pressure still has limits. “
Asked by “Horizon” whether it is realistic for these elections to change a position around which there is a very broad public consensus, as well as the remark that Bulgaria is not against the European perspective of Northern Macedonia, but simply wants to stop the anti-Bulgarian rhetoric and the joint historical Commission to resume its meetings, Minister Zakariash replied:
“What I feel is that the time was not right. Bulgaria needed more time to discuss these issues. Whether there will be elections or not, I think negotiations with Northern Macedonia should continue, especially with regard to the roadmap. Both sides are trying to express their position – Bulgaria has always said that it is not against the membership of Northern Macedonia in the EU, on the contrary, it wants to be there. But he added that there should be clarity on some aspects. That is why sometimes more time is needed, more caution and the debate needs to continue. I am sure that our colleagues from Slovenia, who are from the same region, can certainly support this process and help move it forward with all our might. I think that our efforts were appreciated by both Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia. But it takes time between the balance of pressure we put on and the understanding of the situation that needs to be achieved. As presidency, we wanted to make this point, but we need to understand the circumstances. “
Following the statement by Anna Paula Zakarias, the authorities in Skopje said that the moment was extremely sensitive and that the European representatives should refrain from qualifying on issues in Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia that they did not know.
Earlier, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev welcomed the efforts and proposals of the Portuguese presidency, saying that the negotiating framework states, “the translation of EU legislation and legal acts will be in Macedonian.
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