Bulgaria FM: Sofia Backs Macedonia EU Bid

He told local media he wants Macedonia to drop its suspicion that Bulgaria has ill intentions towards it. He said that since the Republic of Macedonia was recognised Bulgaria has done what it could to help the country, reports Novinite.

“I hope you see what has already been commented in Europe. It is not good for one candidate country to constantly have sentiments against Bulgaria. I understand that there is still much emotion in this case. But together we can do much more than individually," he said.

A seemingly trivial row strained relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria last year. After the Macedonian authorities sentenced Spaska Mitrova, a Macedonian citizen who also held a Bulgarian passport, to three months' imprisonment in August because she would not allow her husband to visit their child, Sofia put pressure on Skopje to release ‘its’ citizen, and accused Macedonian media of hate speach against Bulgaria.

Threats to block Macedonia’s EU accession were heard from politicians in Sofia. In October, Mitrova was released.

Skopje and Sofia have different views on certain historical events that concern both countries. While Bulgarian scientists generally consider Macedonians to be of Bulgarian origin, Macedonians see themselves as being of a separate ethnicity.

The daily Standart quoted Mladenov saying, “we support Macedonia’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. The question of membership and when it will happen is in the hands of our Macedonian colleagues. The Macedonians have to walk their own path, like we [Bulgaria] walked ours during EU membership negotiations.”