As members of the EU, we cannot afford anyone to build their modern identity on an anti-Bulgarian basis, the head of state stressed when asked about the letter he sent to the EU leaders and institutions on the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM)

 

A democratic government should be based on principles and values that work in the interest of society, not on fear, President Rumen Radev told journalists in Podgorica, when asked to comment on periodically expressed fears of the ruling parties that if the regular government fails, Bulgaria will again have a caretaker cabinet. The head of state is in Montenegro to attend the summit of the heads of state and government of the countries participating in the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).

 

In response to a question about the letter sent by the President to the European leaders and institutions on the European perspective of the RNM, the head of state stressed that as a responsible EU member Bulgaria cannot remain indifferent to the future and sustainable development of the Union. If some are ready to compromise European principles and values for the sake of achieving some fleeting political goals, we are not, the President said. He clarified that the purpose of the letter was to help the EU better understand the issues related to the RNM and not to deviate from its principles, decisions and democratic values, as he said this would not lead to the sustainability of the Union in the long run.

 

We cannot afford to look on indifferently when this closest country to us, the RNM, is deviating from its European integration, the President said and highlighted the other important objective of the letter he sent - to help the RNM, which instead of having the political will to solve problems by meeting the Copenhagen membership criteria, is guided by lobbying, which is to its detriment. 

 

The head of state recalled that in the negotiating framework the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution and the guarantee of their equality is only a precondition for the start of the negotiations. The other important conditions laid down in the document are the implementation of the Treaty on Friendship, Good Neighbourhood and Cooperation, as well as the two important minutes of the Intergovernmental Commission meetings, where there are clear commitments - the renunciation of hate speech against Bulgaria, the end of discrimination against the citizens of the RNM who identify themselves as Bulgarians, the revision of textbooks to eradicate hate speech from them and the disclosure of the archives of the former Yugoslav secret services. The President pointed out that there is no development on these issues.

 

We cannot allow an ideology of hatred, of ethnic discrimination to penetrate the EU. As members of the EU, we cannot afford anyone to build their modern identity on an anti-Bulgarian basis, the head of state concluded.