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Unfortunately, in the history of the European
Union and of all of Europe, 17 November 2020 may become a momentous
date to be remembered, unless the situation is rectified soon. On
this day, Bulgaria acted on its 2019 ultimatum of over 20 items to
Skopje,1 and vetoed the highly expected opening of the EU accession
negotiations with North Macedonia.2 Prior to this decision the
Bulgarian government and this country’s political elite loudly
complained that the EU is unable to understand Bulgarian history and
Sofia’s position on North Macedonia,3 which is ‘surprising,’ because
the ‘Bulgarian historical science’ (българската историческа наука)
‘proves’ that Sofia is right.4 The Bulgarian delegation proceeded
with the blocking the opening of the accession talks with North
Macedonia, despite the leading Bulgarian scholars’ open letter of 5
October 2020, in which they warned not to follow this dangerous
path.5 Above all, as reported in the European press, Sofia wants
North Macedonia to acknowledge that Macedonian is not a language in
its own right, but a form or dialect of Bulgarian.6 Doing politics by
ultimatums has been unprecedented in postwar Europe – by now.
To decide about a state’s language, identity and
history is part and parcel of sovereignty, as practiced in Europe
during the last three centuries and a half. Other polities have no
right to intrude, lest conflicts arise. On the other hand, it must
be noted that through time a single language may diverge into more,
as in the case of Latin that spawned French or Italian.7 An opposite
situation is possible too, when speakers of two languages decide
that it is a single one, as in the case of the 1980 Language Union
between Belgium’s Flemish and the Netherlands’ Dutch that resulted
in the Netherlandish language.8 Yet, in their vast majority speakers
of Macedonian do not see their language as (part of) Bulgarian, and
likewise do not claim Bulgarian to be a form of Macedonian. Why
can’t then Bulgaria respect its neighbor’s sovereignty?
Many international observers rightly brand
autocratic tendencies in present-day Hungary or Poland.9 But almost
no one takes note of the fact that in in the EU, rule of law is
least observed in Bulgaria
(https://verfassungsblog.de/so-why-dont-we-just-call-the-whole-rule-of-law-thing-off-then/).
On top of that Bulgaria is the poorest EU member state
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36322484). And
now Bulgaria uses the EU to throw its weight abroad,10 this time by
intruding on North Macedonia’s sovereignty. It is a case of the tail
wagging the dog.
Sofia’s veto is a blatant breach of Article 1 of
the Helsinki Final Act (1975).11 Bulgaria follows Russia that in 2014
violated multiple provisions of this document by annexing Ukraine’s
Crimea.12 Turning a blind eye to what Sofia’s doing is no option,
because it may soon face the EU with yet another cycle of conflict
and even warfare in the Balkans. In 2017, in return for Sofia’s
support for Albania’s efforts to open accession talks with the EU,
Tirana agreed to relabel the country’s Slavic-speaking minority of
Macedonians as ‘Bulgarians.’13 Apart from North Macedonia, Bulgaria is
also spoiling for conflict in southern Moldova, where Sofia supports
separatist tendencies among the area’s Bulgarian minority.14 At the
same time, back home, the Bulgarian authorities do their best to
suppress and alienate Bulgaria’s Turkish minority,15 and Roma.16 It does
not bode well, and looks as though the Bulgarian government emulates
the Kremlin’s neoimperial policy of ‘Russian world’ (Русский мир).17
While Moscow wants to regain control over all the post-Soviet
countries, Bulgaria in its quest for a ‘Bulgarian world’ (Български
свят) appears seeking to build a continuous Balkan sphere of
influence from Albania to Moldova.18
November 2020
1
http://www.gov.bg/bg/prestsentar/novini/ramkova-pozitsia
2
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/17/mind-our-language-bulgaria-blocks-north-macedonias-eu-path
3
https://news.bg/politics/evropa-ne-razbira-sashtnostta-na-spora-ni-sas-skopie-spored-ivan-ilchev.html
4
https://www.mediapool.bg/evropa-ne-ni-razbira-balgarski-ucheni-poiskaha-novo-istorichesko-mislene-za-severna-makedoniya-news312809.html?fbclid=IwAR2Ke5pGDyX0_Mf3v6k13znbdz1sUwUImT59h5dNkvFDS5TGhJU4eNa8mUI
5
https://www.marginalia.bg/novini/ne-sme-saglasni-samo-severna-makedoniya-da-se-predstavya-kato-strana-koyato-ne-se-spravya-s-minaloto-si/
6
https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/bulgaria-spells-out-conditions-for-unblocking-north-macedonias-eu-path/
7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languages#/media/File:Map_Length_of_Roman_Rule_Neo_Latin_Languages.jpg
8
https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBV0002947/1982-04-01
9
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/16/eu-hungary-veto-budget-viktor-orban
10
https://www.helsinki.org.rs/doc/Bulgarias Secret Empire.docx
11
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/5/c/39501.pdf
12
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/03/17/crimea-six-years-after-illegal-annexation/
13
https://exit.al/2017/10/kerkesat-e-ke-pakica-bullgare-ne-shqiperi-do-te-njihet-si-minoritet/
14
https://www.president.bg/news5135/prezidentat-radev-poluchi-uverenie-ot-moldovskiya-si-kolega-da-se-zapazi-statutat-na-naseleniya-s-balgari-tarakliyski-rayon.html?lang=bg&skipMobile=1
15
https://frognews.bg/glasat-na-jabata/glasat/avtonomiia-smesenite-raioni-ima-takav-serial.html
16
https://balkaninsight.com/2019/02/08/bulgarian-nationalists-issue-controversial-roma-integration-plan-02-07-2019/
17
https://www.csis.org/analysis/russian-world-moscows-strategy
18
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/5/c/39501.pdf
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