Bulgaria demands minority rights safeguards from North Macedonia
Bulgaria's National Assembly on Friday voted unanimously, 194-0, to pass a resolution on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia in the process of accession to the European Union, CE Report quotes MIA.
The resolution, moved by Toshko Yordanov, MP of There Is Such a People and a group of MPs, points out that Bulgaria remains fully committed to the July 2022 European consensus and called on the authorities in North Macedonia to respect strictly the understandings they have undertaken. The document describes as "unacceptable" any attempts to renegotiate, circumvent or ignore any elements of the understandings reached within the EU formats and institutions.
The resolution notes that "the European consensus is an understanding between the country seeking EU membership, of the one part, and the Union as a whole, of the other part, which is why it is not a bilateral matter" and recalls that "the European consensus is based on the EU Council Conclusions of July 2022, the Negotiating Framework of the Republic of North Macedonia and the joint protocols between Bulgaria and North Macedonia on the implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness and Cooperation signed on August 1, 2017."
The National Assembly calls on the EU institutions "to press ahead strenuously with their efforts for guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia and the rights of the rest of the communities, including the right to preserve and promote their cultural and historical heritage, language, family memory and identity, and to adopt an inclusive approach with regard to the sensitive issues of national identity in the multi-ethnic society of the Republic of North Macedonia."
The resolution calls on international organizations "to monitor rigorously the adherence to the highest standards in the area of human rights protection in the Republic of North Macedonia, to react and take appropriate action in cases of violence, discrimination, hate speech, exertion of institutional pressure and other forms of repression against Bulgarians or members of other communities in the Republic of North Macedonia."
The document points out that the National Assembly expects the Republic of North Macedonia, implementing the 2022 European consensus, to draw up and present a targeted Action Plan dedicated to the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities or communities, accompanying a Roadmap for the Rule of Law. "This Plan, whose implementation will be followed throughout the EU accession process of the Republic of North Macedonia, should contain clear, quantifiable and effective measures for the protection of human rights of vulnerable social groups in the Republic of North Macedonia," the resolution states. It says further that "the National Assembly renders strong and unwavering support to all Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia and insists on their non-discriminatory treatment and proposes to the Council of Ministers to make the Resolution available to the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, as well as to the Council of Europe."
The reasons for the Resolution note that the European Parliament will adopt shortly resolutions on the reports from the European Commission on progress of the EU candidate countries.
"The first substantial step in the mechanism approved in connection with the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia is the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the Constitution on a par with the rest of the peoples in the country. This will ensure them being place on a legally equal footing in the multi-ethnic society which, according to its consistent affirmations, the Republic of North Macedonia has successfully built. The commitments formulated in the 2022 European consensus, however, go far beyond the constitutional amendments. It contains a number of other key elements, too. We expect the Republic of North Macedonia to draw up an Action Plan for the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities or communities whose implementation should be closely monitored by the European Commission. We expect clear, quantifiable and effective measures to prevent, investigate and punish cases of hate speech and hate crimes against Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia," the sponsors of the resolution write in their reasons.
They point out that "the National Assembly is following particularly closely the court trials against citizens who openly stand up for their Bulgarian identity, including the case of Ljupco Georgievski. We expect the independent judicial system to continue to be guided solely by the principles of the law and to remain neutral when attempts are made to instrumentalize elements of the political process." The reasons note further that "the negative rhetoric regarding Bulgaria is escalating at the political level and insinuates that claims by the Bulgarian State are the reason why the country is lagging behind".
