The continuation of communist-era totalitarian policies in the European Union the case of Bulgaria, the Macedonian minority and Macedonia’s EU integration

• Main Author: Stojko Stojkov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Philosophy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje 2021-06-01
• Series: Bezbednosni Dijalozi
• Subjects: macedonian minority; bulgaria; eu; integration; minority rights
• Online Access: http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/sd/SD%2012.1%20(2021)/SD%2012.1%2006%20STOJKOV,%20S.%20-%20THE%20CASE%20OF%20BULGARIA,%20THE%20MACEDONIAN%20MINORITY%20AND%20MACEDONIA%E2%80%99S%20EU%20INTEGRATION.pdf

This article deals with the Bulgarian denial of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, which is a key moment in the Bulgarian veto against Macedonia’s EU integration. The Bulgarian position that the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria does not exist directly contradicts the fact that this minority was previously officially recognized in Bulgaria and that in almost all censuses in the last 80 years thousands of Bulgarian citizens identified themselves as Macedonians. Refusing to face the reality and contrary to the recommendations of various international organizations and institutions in the last 20 years, the Bulgarian government refuses to start a dialogue with the minority and ascribes the actions of the Bulgarian citizens with Macedonian self-awareness to the R. Macedonia. However, initiatives in the international organizations and institutions in support of the Macedonian minority are not initiated by the Republic of Macedonia, but, quite the opposite, by Bulgarian citizens and organizations; such forums include not only the Council of Europe’s system in Strasbourg and the UN, but also the institutions of the European Union, where in fact Macedonia is not a member. Formulated back in 1963, the policy of denial of the Macedonian minority was the first in a series of “revival processes” aimed at assimilating minorities into a “unified Bulgarian socialist nation”, but at the same time it is the last process to remain not condemned in Bulgaria and that continues to be implemented even today. During the communist era, this policy resulted in the deportation of a few thousand people to prisons, camps, or internments, as well as in the implementation of many other forms of repression. After the fall of communism, it resulted in exactly 14 judgments against Bulgaria ruled by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights. The policy of the Bulgarian state today, which in essence follows the line created by the late dictator Todor Zhivkov, is the last totalitarian communist policy in the European Union.