Giorgos Protopapas: Zaev tried to fix things with the Bulgarians and botched it with his own constituency!

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, in his attempt to resolve the intense disputes with Bulgaria, so that it can lift the veto in order to proceed with the accession negotiations of his country with the EU, made controversial statements that provoked strong reactions in Skopje.

In an interview with the Bulgarian news agency Zaev, on the role of Bulgarian troops during World War II in the region of present-day Northern Macedonia, Zaev claimed that the former Yugoslavia had “divided” the peoples of Bulgaria and his country.

Zaev’s allegations sparked a storm of reactions inside North Macedonia, as he refrained from referring to “Bulgarian fascist occupation” at the time and the partisans’ struggle to liberate the region from the occupying forces. Zaev was sharply criticized by Branko Crvenkovski, a leading figure and for many years leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SDSM), former prime minister and president, in an open letter to party members.

He demanded that the Central Committee of SDSM be convened immediately, in order to decide that the positions expressed by Zaev do not reflect the positions of the party. However, his request was denied. Crvenkovski says Zaev’s views and positions have had and will have long-term consequences for the people and the country.

He pointed out that “huge and irreparable damage has been done. “What can and must be done is to make it clear that Zaev’s views are not the views of either the government as a whole or the leadership of the state,” Crvenkoski states that until the meeting of the Central Committee, he himself, as a founding member and for many years president of SDSM, is suspending his status as a member of the party. Zaev’s statements were condemned, among others, by the Union of Veteran Warriors of North Macedonia, who fought on the side of the partisans against the occupying forces.

However, Zaev’s positions received a positive response in Sofia. Bulgarian Defense Minister and leader of the nationalist VMRO-BND party, Krassimir Karakatsanov, said “this is a small step forward but in the right direction”. He added, however, that Sofia is asking Skopje for written guarantees, not just statements.

Zaev tried to calm down the reactions afterward, noting “I am sorry that my interview caused negative feelings. But I want to urge the “Macedonian” people to help resolve the issue with Bulgaria. We need to agree on historical issues and develop a capacity for understanding and forgiveness. The peoples of Europe have agreed not to forget, but to forgive each other in the name of the future. This is my greatest wish and I will follow it as much as I can “.

Zaev and the Bulgarian veto

It should be noted that Sofia and Skopje are in an intense confrontation over national, historical, and linguistic issues, which affect the accession of North Macedonia to the EU, but also which are linked to the balances in the Bulgarian political scene. The Sofia government accuses Skopje of violating the 2017 agreement and not recognizing the common history and similarities of their language.

Bulgaria has threatened to veto North Macedonia’s accession to the EU, a move that could cause problems, as the EU and the US have backed the Prespa Accord to pave the way for accession talks. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva told Reuters that “Skopje must recognize the historical truth: If the Republic of North Macedonia recognizes the Bulgarian roots of its nation and language, it will end the tensions in our relationship.”

The government of Sofia has in the past shown irredentist positions towards North Macedonia, as it has supplied Bulgarian passports to citizens of North Macedonia. It has made claims for a Bulgarian minority in its neighboring country. However, the Skopje government has raised the issue of the existence of an unrecognized “Macedonian minority” in Bulgaria, specifically in the Pirin region.

A report by the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2019 criticized the Bulgarian government, expressing concern over rights violations and hate speech against the unrecognized “Macedonian minority”. The tension in the relations between the two neighboring states is escalating for the different views on history and language, which are so far considered difficult to resolve.

North Macedonia cannot accept Bulgaria’s claims about the “Macedonian” language. The two countries also disagree on the national identity of Giorgi Delchev, who led the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Both the citizens of North Macedonia and Bulgaria consider Delchev their national hero. North Macedonia cannot accept Bulgaria’s claims about the “Macedonian” language.

Bulgaria and the EU

The hard-line attitude of the Sofia government towards North Macedonia on national, historical, and linguistic issues is also linked to internal political balances. The government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is heavily dependent on the support of the nationalist United Patriots coalition, which includes the VMRO, which is known for its aggressive nationalist rhetoric.

In an interview with Bulgaria’s National Radio, Lyubimir Kyutsukov, director of the Institute of Economic and International Relations in Sofia, warned of the danger of triggering “anti-Bulgarian” sentiment in North Macedonia. “Blocking Northern Macedonia’s negotiations with the EU places Bulgaria in international isolation.”

Bulgaria recently sent a letter to the EU Member States entitled “Memorandum explaining the relationship between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia in the context of enlargement, accession, and stabilization”. According to the document, he calls on the EU to include the 2017 Good Neighbor Agreement, in the context of negotiations with North Macedonia.

Bulgaria hopes the letter it sent to Brussels will prevent the first intergovernmental conference between North Macedonia and the EU from taking place. The question is whether the Borisov government will come under pressure from Brussels, especially from Germany the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU, through the Berlin Process.

Borisov is seen as taking a hard-line approach to North Macedonia in order to garner more votes in the run-up to the Bulgarian parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2021. Delay in EU accession talks will pose a problem for Zaev, who has invested his political capital in the country’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures.