At the beginning of the week political leaders in Macedonia agreed to hold early general elections in the country. The news came after a meeting between Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski with the leaders of the principal political parties held with the mediation of European Commissioner Johannes Hahn. The idea to involve Brussels came from Germany with the support of Bulgaria and the Netherlands. The final agreement is expected to be worked out at a meeting of the leaders next week in Brussels. The altered situation in Macedonia – this was the subject of a discussion organized by Radio Bulgaria.

According to Lyubomir Kyuchukov, Director of the Economics and International Relations Institute, the pause in EU enlargement until 2020, announced by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is having a highly demoralizing effect on the Balkans.

“Johannes Hahn came to an understanding with the leaders of the major political parties for the application of the mechanisms the European Commission uses as negotiating tools with EU candidate countries on the most sensitive negotiation chapters - the supremacy of law and freedom of speech,” says journalist Kosta Philipov, who spent many years as correspondent in Skopje. “Perhaps by sending Johannes Hahn and taking on this mission of mediation, the EU is sending a message – that Macedonia’s European future is not a lost cause. But it will take reforms.”

During the discussion it was made clear that relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia should not be regarded as a contest of patriotic discourse, that they must not bear the burden of political emotion or the ideological repercussions of past times. The participants focused on the positive effect the shared celebration of anniversaries of historical events is having as a positive sign that a more favourable climate is emerging in the contacts between the institutions and the people of the two countries.

“We have brought a tradition back to life – that of celebrating the day of Cyril and Methodius on 11 May, according to the Julian calendar, together,” says Prof. Dr. Svetlozar Eldurov from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute of Balkan Studies and member of the Macedonian Research Institute. “This is the second year of shared celebrations. I have taken part in all 30 projects the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has with the Macedonian Academy of Sciences, so I would like to talk about the experience I have had. Before I joined this bilateral cooperation I knew my colleagues from Macedonia by their treatises as they did me. We have now established relations as human beings and that is a great help in our professional contacts. The traditions of Bulgarian historiography are much deeper and when we take our publications over we leave our Macedonian colleagues very little room for maneuvering. We cannot expect this to alter their national self-awareness because there are some processes that cannot be turned back. But the more contacts with Macedonia the better. I cannot believe there can be anyone in Bulgaria in fear that he or she may become Macedonian. One in three Bulgarians have Macedonian roots, I am one of them.”

The participants in the discussion laid particular emphasis on the importance the signing of the treaty on goodneigbourhood between the two countries put forward by Bulgaria in 2008 would have, a treaty that aims to promote the principles of bilateral relations, set down in the 1999 joint declaration of the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia.

“Regrettably, for a long time the idea for such a treaty got no response from the Macedonian side,” says Lyubomir Kyuchukov who, in his capacity of Deputy Foreign Minister, is one of the authors of the draft. “Then there was a delay on Bulgaria’s part. Once it was put back on the agenda, it unfortunately turned form an instrument into an objective for the overall development of relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia that is seen as hanging on the signing of the treaty. It is a necessity, yet it is vital that parallel with it all possible contacts are promoted – in business and in culture. Prof. Eldurov said something that is very positive. Bulgaria has a vested interest in promoting bilateral relations on all levels. I think that the initial declaration by the Foreign Ministry was true but to some extent insufficient. We have an interest in stability and consolidation in Macedonia in view of the stability of the entire region. Then measures were taken to make our policy pro-active. Bulgaria is taking over the presidency of the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process and its top priority must be to consolidate stability in the region. Bulgaria has been an active member of the EU but it should demand that the Union reconsider its enlargement policy. We have a sufficient number of instruments at hand that we could use towards stability in Macedonia as well as to promote our own interests.”

English version: Milena Daynova