Soon after his first visit to Brussels, the prime minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev paid an official visit to Sofia. The Macedonian prime minister described both of these visits as historic, with one underlying aim – that Macedonia be given support and assistance in its bid for membership of the EU and of NATO. From Sofia, Zaev called on his country’s other neighbours to give their support to Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic future. This appeal is an indication that the new Macedonian government is ready to normalize its relations with Greece, with which Macedonia has had a running naming dispute for years, and with Serbia, which Skopje is accusing of interference in its domestic affairs, but also with Albania and Kosovo, countries Macedonia has fallen out with over aspirations by the Albanian factor inside the country.

In Sofia PM Zaev stated a clear intention to overcome differences with Bulgaria, saying that Macedonia was closing a chapter in the history of nationalism and hatred and opening a new chapter of a European future for all. In confirmation of this intention Bulgaria and Macedonia reached agreement to sign a goodneighbour and cooperation agreement on 2 August – an act that has been postponed over many years. The date of its signature carries a deep symbolical meaning, because 2 August is the anniversary of the Ilinden uprising, described as the defining moment in the national-liberation struggle of the Macedonian and Thracian Bulgarians. The choice of 2 August is an unequivocal demonstration of the two countries’ determination to celebrate, jointly, historical events and figures the two countries have in common. A determination the two prime ministers Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borissov demonstrated during Zaev’s visit when the two paid their respects at the monument to Tsar Samuel in the Bulgarian capital. There is a monument to Samuel in Skopje as well, and Macedonian politicians and historians allege that the ruler is their national hero. Apparently the road to joint celebrations has not been cleared as yet, because Borissov made it clear that the two prime ministers would determine what “shared history” means and which specific periods of the past it covers after the foreign ministers of the two countries have given the goodneighbour agreement a final review but before it is signed.

To the appeals of the Macedonian prime minister, Sofia responded with assurances of support for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our neighbor to the west. However, PM Borissov noted that the country’s accession to NATO and the EU will depend most of all on Macedonia itself and its domestic political stability. President Rumen Radev also expressed support for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic and European prospects but to this support he added the wish to see a stable climate of trust between the two countries, a change in the approach the Macedonian delegation has been demonstrating towards Bulgaria at the Council of Europe over the procedure of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and support for the restoration and preservation of the Bulgarian soldiers monuments in Macedonia.

The talks also focused on accomplishing a better transport, energy and communications connectivity between the two countries. The two prime ministers agreed that bilateral trade and tourist exchange can be expanded tangibly. Borissov and Zaev noted the positive tendencies in bilateral cooperation in the spheres of education and culture. It should not be forgotten however, that there were highlights in the talks PM Borissov held with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski in 2012 that were very similar, yet little progress has been made on them since that time. There is no advancement to speak of on the project for a Sofia-Skopje highway or a railway connection between the two capital cities. The project of a new border checkpoint, Klepaloto, between Berovo and Strumiany, the idea for which was conceived back at the beginning of the 1980s and was put down in writing in an agreement between the two countries in 1999, is still mere wishful thinking.

Knowing that relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia have been stagnant for so long, any progress is seen as significant and welcome. The media in the two countries describe Zoran Zaev’s visit to Bulgaria as a breakthrough and an opportunity. The two countries have stated their good intentions, now is the time to put them through.

English version: Milena Daynova