Skopje, 30 April 2026 (MIA) - Bulgarians will be included in the Constitution after we receive a guarantee that identity and bilateral issues will not be used to hinder and veto our European integration path and reciprocity will be ensured regarding the rights of Macedonians in Bulgaria, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Zoran Dimitrovski said during Thursday's Q&A session in Parliament, asked by SDSM MP Jovanka Trenchevska what the Government was doing regarding the country's European path and whether the Bulgarians will be included in the Constitution.   

"Let me give a simple answer to your question: yes, Bulgarians will become part of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia as soon as we see the other side extend a hand on several grounds. First, regarding the rights of our Macedonians in Bulgaria. They cannot register their organizations, neither at the level of non-governmental organizations, and you know how many judgments there are about that in Strasbourg. You decided at the time to give up on the demands for their rights and at the same time accept that the Bulgarians, who are a community of 3,500 citizens, according to the population census, with less than 900 citizens among them whose mother tongue is Bulgarian, become part of the Constitution. You accepted that even though there is no elementary reciprocity from the other side, not only is there no elementary reciprocity but there is a refusal to even treat any rights of an ethnic community - Macedonians and their existence in Bulgaria. In addition, you accepted that some of the identity issues be part of the negotiating framework," said Dimitrovski. 

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade pointed out that the Government has used this entire past period "at many addresses in Europe, to explain to our European friends and they finally understand our need for specific guarantees that our path to the European Union, our negotiations will not be hindered by Sofia over identity issues".

"And to many of them, that is reasonable. The European Council President stated this in Sofia. We see moves by the MEP whereby he asks the EU to clarify the legal framework and whether these issues can really be used as a veto by Sofia. So everyone in Europe has begun to understand that Macedonia must have a predictable path to the Union and not be hindered by identity and bilateral vetoes, only you do not understand this. I find it strange how Mr. António Costa can understand it, but you cannot. Obviously he is a greater Macedonian patriot than Venko Filipche. It is only SDSM and their coalition partner DUI that cannot understand it. The Albanians in the Government, Vlen, they understand this and they all clearly say that it is reasonable for Macedonia to receive guarantees for its European path in the context of the possibility of Bulgaria vetoing identity and bilateral issues," Dimitrovski said.

According to him, resolving this issue requires dialogue with the new government in Bulgaria, but, he stressed, it also requires national consensus with the opposition parties.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade pointed out that the country has an excellent, unmatched record in Europe in terms of the treatment of ethnic communities.

"And you know that. You know that all ethnic communities enjoy the highest rights. In the meantime, due to the obligation that your government at the time undertook in the context of the negotiating framework and our integration path, we have also prepared an Action Plan on the protection of ethnic communities, including Bulgarians. We did it with European experts and with the help of experts from the Council of Europe recommended to us by the EC. We have prepared textbook measures for the protection of the rights of ethnic communities under 20 percent. Measures which are unprecedented in Europe. Of course, our eastern neighbor does not accept that plan either, it rejects it and has objections, and you are putting yourself in a position to support their demands, i.e. the demands of the most radical circles in Bulgaria," Dimitrovski said. 

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