Language dispute blocks N. Macedonia’s path to joining EU

SOFIA, Bulgaria — It’s not easy to plan for the future in a region like the Balkans, where history often clouds the present.

One of Europe’s youngest nations, North Macedonia, spent years resolving differences with Greece that prevented it from joining the European Union and NATO. Last week, that path was blocked again, this time by another neighbor, Bulgaria.

The government in Sofia wants North Macedonia to formally recognize that its language has Bulgarian roots and to stamp out what it says is anti-Bulgarian rhetoric.

Launching accession talks with a prospective member country requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU nations. Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told Bulgaria’s lawmakers that their country withheld its consent Tuesday because North Macedonia was not observing a 2017 bilateral friendship treaty and was fueling hatred through some of its policies.

“Hysteria has been whipped up in their media, fueled by open hate speech toward Bulgaria, and by branding anyone who expresses a dissenting opinion a traitor,” Zaharieva said.

“In effect, Skopje has continued its policy of maintaining unfounded claims about minority rights, history and language, among other matters,” Zaharieva said.

Bulgaria insists that instead of “Macedonian language,” the formulation “the official language of the Republic of North Macedonia” should be used in the negotiating framework.

Sofia considers the language a dialect of Bulgarian, arguing that the official language of its neighbor was artificially created after 1944.

Bulgaria also wants a text in the road map to state that claims there is a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria will not be supported in any form.

According to a 2011 census, some 1,600 of Bulgaria’s 7 million citizens call themselves Macedonians. Historians in Sofia claim these people are not a minority but refugees who moved to Bulgaria after the Balkan wars at the beginning of the 20th century.

Zaharieva said Bulgaria wants legal guarantees before it will give the green light to membership negotiations that were scheduled to start next month.

North Macedonia says its national identity and language are not open to discussion. A commission of renowned historians from both countries has been working to resolve the standoff but has so far failed to find enough common ground to satisfy the two nations.

Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, has been an active supporter of letting in the six Western Balkan countries, believing it could help improve living standards and insulate the region against the influence of Russia and China. North Macedonia’s government said Wednesday that it remains “committed to the European path.” Information for this article was contributed by Konstantin Testorides of The Associated Press.