With FYROM’s European Union entry stalled over its naming dispute with Greece, Bulgaria is now also using its veto power to bar the door to Skopje.
The Bulgarian government has blocked the start of FYROM’s EU accession talks over what it says is an “anti-Bulgarian campaign” being waged by the Skopje government. In talks with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele in recent weeks, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said “the government in Skopje … is systematically employing an ideology of hate towards Bulgaria.”
Plevneliev’s comments come after a wave of ultra nationalist articles about the origins of Bulgarian people appeared in FYROM media this northern summer. The articles alleged Bulgarians traced their ethnic heritage to a ‘Macedonian’ state. Bulgarian authorities have also accused their FYROM counterparts of false interpretations of historical events which ‘connect’ the two countries.
President Plevneliev told Fuele that while Sofia ultimately supports FYROM’s bid for EU membership, such developments threaten regional stability and show FYROM is not ready to begin accession talks. An EU candidate since 2005, FYROM has faced repeated accusations of “aggressiveness” toward the Bulgarian nation. In 2006, then-Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin declared that his country supported the Macedonian EU bid “but not unconditionally.”
Fuele said he was disappointed with Plevneliev’s position. The commissioner said that “isolation boosts nationalism,” and added that FYROM had been waiting “before a closed door” for too long in its bids to join the EU and NATO.
