Bulgarian support for Macedonia’s EU and NATO accession is not unconditional

published on 11/17/09 1:34 PM

Photo: BGNES

In an attempt to obtain Bulgaria’s support for Macedonia’s accession to the EU and NATO, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski paid a brief visit to Sofia. Was his mission successful?

Gruevski’s meeting with his Bulgarian host - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov was very brief indeed. In fact, both Sofia and Skopje are well aware of the problems in bilateral relations and the ways for solving them. Both “neighboring and friendly” countries, as Gruevski called them after the talks, should indeed start living as such. His wish for events of the 19th and the early 20th century to be left to the past sounds pretty well. But words are one thing while reality – quite another. Skopje authorities remember what good they can expect from Sofia only when in dire straits. The rest of the time they approach bilateral relations with an arsenal of militant “Macedonism” and pro-Serb liability, rather forgetful of the help Bulgaria has been providing in times of hardship for this southwestern neighbor of ours. Bulgaria has for a long time been overlooking or viewing with irony the fake evidence provided by Macedonian “scientific circles” when analyzing the country’s history; the plunders on our historical heritage and the arrant nostalgia on Yugoslavian past. Keeping in mind the young age of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the feverish wish of its political leadership to legitimize the so-called “ancient history of the country”, Bulgaria has been refraining from anything stronger than warnings and offering of historical evidence and documents reminding that trust and good neighborly relations cannot be build on forgery. All that to no end! Until the date came closer when it should be decided whether or not to start negotiation for Macedonia’s accession to the EU. This decision has to be made in Brussels in early December.

All of a sudden it occurred to officials by the Vardar River that Bulgaria could, just like Greece, demand that they perform with no mistakes in bilateral relations, resign from hostile language and stop thieving on historic memory. All that considering, Sofia has the full right to block the start of negotiations fro EU accession. That caused the urgent visit of Premier Gruevski to Bulgaria. Even though, judging from what came out in mass media, he has laid emphasis mainly on the development of economic relations between the two countries, Bulgaria’s Premier Borissov has clearly and categorically pointed out that Bulgaria has been supporting and would continue supporting Macedonia’s European integration but that support cannot be unconditional. It would be based on criteria and engagements fulfilled on the part of Skopje. Bulgaria is glad of the dropping of the visa regime for Macedonian citizens visiting the EU, which is to come into force December 19; and sincerely hopes that the former Yugoslav republic would stop tolerating groups apt to creating conflicts. Bulgaria hopes that the Macedonian side would not be looking for conflicts and that state-run radio and TV channels would keep to bon ton. Sofia insists for all that to be officially placed in an intergovernmental document, which would leave little or no space for the performances of self-styled politicians and historians.

Macedonia has for a long time been playing the part of the “bad child” on the Balkans. But if it thinks that childhood and adolescence last for ever and it would be able to ravage the history of its neighbors without being slashed across the fingers, it would be greatly disappointed. One of the criteria for EU membership is precisely good neighborliness and the lack of any pending issues between neighboring countries. Skopje is still too far from that. And if Gruevski has indeed been honest in Sofia when saying history should be left to historians while we should look to the future, it would have been a step in the right direction. The next step is to convince prominent Macedonian “historians” that Alexander the Great’s home address was not in Skopje and that the Communist International is now history.

Englis version: Iva Letnikova

По публикацията работи: Dimitar Ushev

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Bulgarian support for Macedonia’s EU and NATO accession is not unconditional

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