Ekaterina Zaharieva: “Bulgaria Will Be Watching Closely Implementation of Treaty with North Macedonia during Its EU Accession Negotiations”

Bulgaria will continue to support the Republic of North Macedonia to get a starting date for negotiations on membership of the European Union but will be following very closely the implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation with the Republic of North Macedonia, especially in the part of history, in each negotiating chapter, when the country begins EU accession negotiations.

“Under their Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, they committed themselves to enter into goodneighbourly relations with the other countries of the region, including in the field of history,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said after the end of the first session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, which she co-chairs together with her counterpart Nikola Dimitrov.

He assumed a commitment to finding a solution to the issues concerning history between the two countries. “I would like to assure you that the Republic of North Macedonia is entirely devoted to this process. I am convinced that this is not easy because we have signed the Treaty and it is very important for us ourselves. We encouraged the commission on history to continue its work. We will complete this process together with wisdom and friendship,” Nikola Dimitrov said after the end of the session.

The intergovernmental commission met in order to review the implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation, which was signed on 1 August 2017 and entered into force on 14 February 2018.

“In our assessment, significant progress has been made in political terms over the last year and a half,” Ekaterina Zaharieva pointed out. “Enhanced contacts in education, better connectivity and speedier solution to the issues concerning history: that’s what I’d like to see,” the Bulgarian Foreign Minister added. She specified that since 1 August 2017 the two countries’ presidents had met on four occasions and the prime ministers on eight, whereas the foreign ministers had had six one-to-one sessions and dozens of meetings within various formats.

“I can say that during that time we politicians have left the historians behind and already commemorate together Gotse Delchev, the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising and the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius,” Minister Zaharieva said. She called for more vigorous work, a clear timeline and tangible results until the end of the year of the Joint Multidisciplinary Commission on Issues Concerning History and Education, set up by virtue of the Treaty.

“Regrettably, the commission failed to reach agreement on the personality of Gotse Delchev. Their proposal is categorically unacceptable to us. It is absurd to celebrate dates associated with the Comintern and Tito. We have a common understanding that it is not easy but, on the other hand, we must be bold because we want the truth and nothing but the truth. Even though at times telling the truth seems more difficult than repeating a lie hundreds of times. I very much hope that, just as the two prime ministers have already commemorated Gotse Delchev and not on that date, the historians in the commission on the part of the Republic of North Macedonia will exhibit the same wisdom,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said. “If we want to build a friendship that no crisis can destroy, we must teach young people the truth,” the Bulgarian Foreign Minister added. In her words, the issues concerning history must be solved because “we should not bring outstanding bilateral issues into the European Union.” “I would give the commission on history a chance until the end of the year before we give it up,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said.

The two countries’ foreign ministers noted that the Treaty has had a catalysing effect on the improvement of relations in a number of areas. As an example, they cited the steady growth of two-way trade, to EUR 735 million in 2017 and EUR 742 million in 2018. “Nevertheless, projections for the first quarter of 2019 suggest a decline on an annual basis, and we asked the two economy ministries to analyse the situation,” Minister Zaharieva disclosed.

The two countries’ chief diplomats pointed to cooperation in education as another positive example. Bulgaria organised enrolment fairs for future students from the Republic of North Macedonia and during the upcoming academic year will admit 455 applicants from our Western neighbour in bachelor programmes, 205 in master programmes and 40 in doctor programmes, while the two countries will expand their cooperation under the Erasmus+ Programme.

Regarding transport, Minister Zaharieva reiterated that Crete Corridor No. VIII, which must link the Adriatic and the Black Seas, is a top priority for the two countries as well as for the entire region.

“The two transport ministries deserve credit for setting up a joint commission and already have a very clear timeline, and financing has moreover been allocated for the corridor that Prime Minister Borissov arranged at the Berlin Process meeting in Trieste,” Minister Zaharieva emphasised. “We should keep in mind that until two years ago the two governments did not meet and we are now catching up on a nearly 30 year lag,” the Deputy Prime Minister added. “If we want more tourists, we must have rail transport and roads,” she stressed. A total of 560,000 residents of the Republic of North Macedonia visited Bulgaria in 2018.

Wrapping up, Minister Zaharieva thanked Nikola Dimitrov personally. “Our relations, as well the relations between our prime ministers, are always excellent, even when we discuss sensitive issues. Bulgaria is keen on the truth even though it is sometimes more difficult to spell out,” she said. Minister Dimitrov thanked Bulgaria for the support, among other things because the Bulgarian Parliament was among the first to ratify his country’s NATO Accession Protocol.

The Joint Intergovernmental Commission was established pursuant to Article 12 of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation between the two countries. Representatives of the ministries of energy, transport, defence, education, science and culture and others took part in the session of the commission in Sofia, which was presided over by the two ministers of foreign affairs.