#Bulgaria

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

04 Feb 2022 6 3

Oana Lungescu

Inserted 2 years ago

“Allies are sending more ships & jets to enhance NATO defensive deployments in eastern Europe. A strong sign of allied solidarity. Offers include: Danish F-16 jets to Lithuania. French troops to Romania. Dutch F-35 jets to Bulgaria. Spanish frigate heading to the Black Sea.”

Twitter

NATO Spokesperson

24 Jan 2022 10 1

Russia’s Foreign Ministry

Inserted 2 years ago

“One of the main elements of our initiatives is consciously formulated very clearly and does not allow any ambiguous interpretations. We're talking about the withdrawal of foreign forces, equipment and weapons and other steps to return to the 1997 configuration. These include Bulgaria and Romania.”

Themoscowtimes

Statement by Russia's Foreign Ministry

21 Jan 2022 5 3

Iakovos Michailidis

Inserted 2 years ago

“The history of Bulgaria and Slav Macedonia until World War Two are one and the same. Where they differ is after 1940, when Bulgaria becomes a Nazi ally, and [what is now] North Macedonia was part of Tito's resistance to the Nazis. That's where the history diverges. So the history up to World War Two is an apple of discord. Historical continuity and roots in the Balkans have become huge issues. The Slav Macedonians cannot accept that their beginnings as a nation go back only as far back as the 1940s.”

Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki

20 Jan 2022 6 2

Saska Cvetkovska

Inserted 2 years ago

“Both sides discussed some more pragmatic parts of the cross border cooperation - economic and diplomatic education, chambers of commerce. These are mostly run by the EU so they don't count. Everybody was avoiding the core issue, which is the recognition of the Macedonian language and identity.”

Executive director at the Investigative Reporting Lab a centre of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

20 Jan 2022 4 3

Dimitar Kovachevski

Inserted 2 years ago

“We're only going to pay attention to the things that are making us closer, not the things that are keeping us apart. We will give those matters an additional deadline.”

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

18 Jan 2022 1 1

Stevo Pendarovski

Inserted 2 years ago

“The approach of the new Bulgaria PM [Kiril Petkov], that history should not be the only venue of communication [between Skopje and Sofia] is acceptable to me.”

President of the Republic of North Macedonia

15 Dec 2021 2 1

Zoran Zaev

Inserted 2 years ago

“My days [as PM] are numbered. I said I would stay to solidify the government majority and today I believe we are achieving that goal. Now I will need to oversee developments with Bulgaria, and that will take only a few weeks.”

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

05 Dec 2021 1 3

Dimitar Bechev

Inserted 2 years ago

“Serbia, negotiating its accession since 2014, has not opened any new chapters since December 2019. Montenegro, the frontrunner, is now carrying out talks on all EU dossiers, but there is no end in sight for that country either. Then, there is North Macedonia, which has been blocked from launching membership negotiations by its neighbour Bulgaria over a dispute about history and language. Albania, another hopeful, is a collateral damage because it is bundled together with the Macedonians. Bosnia and Kosovo are even further behind in the queue. Kosovars are frustrated that despite meeting all technical conditions they are still denied visa-free travel to the Schengen zone, unlike those living in the rest of the Western Balkans as well as post-Soviet republics such as Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. Europe, it seems, is keeping the region at an arms-length, while continuing to occasionally pay lip service to demands for enlargement.”

Europe’s Futures Fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna

21 Oct 2021 14 8

Olivér Várhelyi

Inserted 2 years ago

“Delays in the official start of membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia have a negative impact on the credibility of the EU. The pending bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia should be resolved as a matter of priority. It is essential that EU Member States conclude discussions on the Negotiating Frameworks without further delay and that the first intergovernmental conferences with both countries be held as soon as possible and before the end of this year. Albania has achieved tangible results in judicial reform and the fight against crime, results have been achieved in the fight against corruption and crime. Macedonia has made progress in the reforms imposed by the EU, it has been determined in the fight against crime and corruption, this fight must continue.”

European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement

19 Oct 2021 8 8

Dragi Gjorgiev

Inserted 2 years ago

“When there is talk about the so-called memory politics of a nation's past, then in order to make decisions about this memory politics, which usually results in what is written on the monuments, and how public opinion perceives this past, seeing things through the eyes of politics, then a lot of discussions, talks, consensus in public opinion is needed to make a decision on how to present a certain event or person from the past. I do not see this statement by our Prime Minister [Zoran Zaev] as a statement that will be implemented immediately and on the basis of which the deletion of some offensive designations from those that have been established so far will begin in the field tomorrow. I see this statement more as an attempt, a signal to the other side that as far as the historical reconciliation between the Macedonian (sic) and Bulgarian people is concerned, there should be a dialogue, all the painful issues between us should be discussed and that this is the solution to achieve reconciliation.”

Balkaneu

Chairman of the North Macedonia Group in the Joint Interdisciplinary Commission on Historical and Educational Issues with Bulgaria

27 Sep 2021 5 4

Jani Makraduli

Inserted 2 years ago

“Macedonian language, Macedonian identity and Macedonian uniqueness are internationally accepted and confirmed, part of our ID at the United Nations. Our international positions are clear and repeated countless times - there has not been and there will never be negotiations about them.”

North Macedonia politician - Social Democrat MP

30 Jul 2021 4 5

Edi Rama

Inserted 2 years ago

“We prepared for the first big wedding with all the decorations. The European Commission said that we are ready for the integration process … First wedding, the bride did not come; the second wedding, the bride did not come. We are not preparing any third wedding. We are hostages of EU nationalisms. The path of Western Balkan integration is dependent more and more on EU nationalisms. When I talk about EU nationalisms, I am talking about the nationalisms of powerful countries holding hostage leaders who are not yet nationalists. In the Balkans, when we copy, we go further than the original. The Bulgarian attitude is a result of what Bulgaria has learned within the EU from the great ones. Bulgaria has learned that it can use local politics to block others.”

Albanian Prime Minister

15 Jul 2021 7 4

Tanja Fajon

Inserted 2 years ago

“To be frank, the region is in a bad condition, the enlargement is in a bad condition, and the EU is in a bad condition. A lot of selfishness, a lot of egoism in the past years, as well as dangerous nationalism. For a country - Bulgaria - to jeopardize another country - this is selfish and dangerous.”

Slovenian politician and Member of the European Parliament

01 Jul 2021 3 5

Nikola Dimitrov

Inserted 2 years ago

“This is great timing for this topic and our gathering. However, we have to be honest and open – it is the worst time possible. For the second time, Bulgaria vetoed the accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. It has been two decades since we started the talks with the EU. We do not know whether to expect it anymore. If the EU cannot make a difference in the region, which is not even its backyard, but its courtyard, it is telling about the problem the EU faces. The long-term consequence will be the weakening of those who believe in the transformative process of the enlargement and in European values.”

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of North Macedonia

01 Jul 2021 4 6

Zoran Zaev

Inserted 2 years ago

“The meeting today is a step towards finding a solution that is aimed at being of interest to both parties. Only in this way will we have the support of the citizens of both countries. I appeal to the brotherly people in Bulgaria through their leaders to continue their support for the Republic of North Macedonia on the road to its EU membership because our country has no other alternative. The most important thing is that we believe in European values.”

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

17 Jun 2021 3 2

Zoran Zaev

Inserted 2 years ago

“I am convinced that today's meetings here in Sofia will bring about only good for both brotherly nations. I appeal on the brotherly Bulgarian nation - through its leaders - to continue to help the Republic of North Macedonia on our path toward the European Union. We have no alternative.”

Rferl

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

17 Jun 2021 2 3

Zoran Zaev

Inserted 2 years ago

“I have a feeling the problem won't be solved by June 22. Bulgaria has a technical government and has no parliament [in session, ahead of July elections], but this option is not impossible. But I believe that these days we can reach an agreement that would be ratified by us and by the next Bulgarian government and parliament.”

Prime Minister of North Macedonia

16 Jun 2021 1 2

Emmanuel Macron

Inserted 2 years ago

“The European Union decided in March last year to start negotiations with your country and now is the time to concretize that decision and France actively supports it. North Macedonia deserves to start negotiations without delay. I am personally involved in finding a solution with Bulgaria,.”