Politico Brussels reported this morning that during Wednesday’s meeting of EU ambassadors a compromise was allegedly reached to start the first intergovernmental conference between the EU and Macedonia and that Bulgaria agreed to that “compromise”.
As a senior EU diplomat told Politico, the compromise reached means Bulgaria would recognize Macedonian as one of the official languages of the country and acknowledge a Macedonian identity. In return, Macedonia would need to acknowledge the “historical truth,” as defined by Sofia, and admit there are Bulgarian foundations upon which any Macedonian identity, and the official language, have been created.
If this is a “compromise”, then these are, in fact, all of the Bulgarian demands. The big question is whether the Macedonian side would accept the “historical truth” presented by Sofia, after the overwhelming negative reactions in the public.
Carl Bildt tweeted about this.
Good news that EU diplomats have unblocked the start of accession talks with Macedonia. As always in the region there were first complex issues of history to deal with, this time with Bulgaria, he tweeted.