Skopje, 26 April 2023 (MIA) – North Macedonia has shown that it is a functional multi-ethnic democracy that serves as an example not only for the region but also as OSCE Chairperson. But we need an environment in which the country won’t be provoked by politicians who come to Skopje and deny the identity and language, because this creates an atmosphere in which it is impossible to continue down the set path, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani on Wednesday as part of his address to European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), in answer to Bulgarian MEPs Angel Dzhambazki and Andrey Kovatchev who said that the Bulgarian community in the country has faced hate speech and hate crimes in the past year.

“Unfortunately, we see politicians who continuously provoke the public while it was still emotional, in order to gain some political points. I will once again extend a hand and say that in North Macedonia we aim to build a perfect society when it comes to the relationship of the state with the communities, regardless of their size. Including the Bulgarian community, which numbers 3.500 citizens according to the latest census. But we need to build such a society together, we need an environment in which the country won’t be provoked, in which there won’t be politicians who come to Skopje and deny the identity and language. Because this creates an atmosphere in which it is impossible to continue down the set path. But, I will reiterate, in the name of the Government, that every citizen, every community, will be treated the same in our multi-ethnic society,” said Osmani.

The Foreign Minister noted that he himself is a part of a community that has undergone an integration process and that he has met with representatives of the Bulgarian community in order to share his experience, but also to tell them that this process is impossible without mutual respect.

“One community cannot be integrated by provoking the other. On the contrary, it can do so by respecting the other community, by laying out its requests and intentions to integrate, without the creation of an environment in which the others would feel insulted or threatened. This is why it is important for everyone to work on this goal. The constitutional amendments which we are working on will formally enable such an opportunity for integration as well,” said Osmani.

Osmani stressed that the citizens feel the EU goalposts are constantly being moved, and that frustration is arising due to the fact that each compromise is followed by a new demand for a compromise.

“The first meeting of the working group on the constitutional amendments will be held today, and with it the debate over the changes, we will try to reach every citizen and explain that this process is significant both for the integration of the communities, but also for the continuation of the EU path. We won’t be able to do this alone, we will need your support. People are starting to doubt whether there is a serious intention for this process to end successfully, and this adds to the frustration,” said the Foreign Minister.

According to Osmani, the citizens don’t believe that there are honest intentions in Bulgaria, but that there are indirect attempts to deny the existence of the Macedonian people.

“We must publicly tell this to the people in order to clear up the dilemmas. We must tell them that this process is credible and will result in membership, and that the citizens will feel the benefits of the EU until the country becomes a member state, in the form of financial support which currently amounts to EUR 1.3 billion. In such an environment in which credibility is clearly affirmed, Bulgaria’s honest intentions will be clearly communicated, and this issue will not be abused by the political parties in North Macedonia as well,” said Osmani, voicing regret that, “there are serious political parties in the country who attack the basic Euro-Atlantic pillars of the country.”

Osmani thanked the MEPs who sent a clear message of support, saying that it is especially important during this critical time for the EU integration process of the country and the region. In his address, he expressed his conviction that the messages of support and encouragement will be reflected in the European Parliament’s upcoming Resolution on North Macedonia.