File photo. [Shutterstock]
The three largest political groups in the European Parliament – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), the center-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D), and centrist Renew Europe – have agreed to remove references to the “Macedonian identity” and “Macedonian language” from a draft report on North Macedonia’s progress toward EU membership, according to media reports on Thursday.
Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev (EPP) said the amendment was initiated by his group and is expected to be endorsed during next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg. The debate is scheduled for Tuesday.
“Matters of identity and language have no place in a progress report for a candidate country,” Kovatchev was quoted as saying. “Such topics only divide and open Pandora’s box, as seen again in the rhetoric from officials in Skopje, particularly Prime Minister [Hristijan] Mickoski, who continues to manipulate historical narratives.”
The agreement follows the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee vote on June 24 to approve the draft report with broad support, despite objections from Bulgarian representatives. The original text included unqualified references to the “Macedonian language and identity” and rejected amendments proposing the use of the term “modern.”
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said it had taken note of the report but stressed that it was not legally binding.
The move drew criticism from North Macedonia, where Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski accused EU member states of undermining national identity.
“It is shameful that an EU member state is attempting to redefine our identity,” Mucunski said. “We have the right to preserve, respect, and build our national identity. It is regrettable that some EU member states are adopting anti-European positions.” [Combined reports]