Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Foreign Ministry with strong position on attitude towards Bulgarians in North Macedonia

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

"The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring with growing concern the developments in North Macedonia related to attempts to limit the right of association of Bulgarians in the country," said a statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

He recalls the position of the Commission for the use of personal names in the country from yesterday, that the Bulgarian cultural club in Bitola cannot be called "Ivan Mihailov" - a decision that was later approved by the Minister of Justice. 

At the same time, the Central Registry rejected the request to harmonize the name of the association "Tsar Boris III" in Ohrid. All this gives the Bulgarian Ministry reason to point out that the decisions taken by the authorities in the  Republic of North Macedonia contradict the commitments made in the field of human rights and the obligation to ensure equal rights and freedoms for all citizens, including those who identify themselves as Bulgarians.
According to Vice President Iliana Iotova, there is not a single sign that North Macedonia’s government wants to put the brakes on hate speech towards everything Bulgarian in that country or that Skopje wants to take action against the so-called criminal acts. "The joint North Macedonia-Bulgaria historical commission is not functioning", Iliana Iotova said. 


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Iliana Iotova

Iliana Iotova: No one has reassured Bulgarians that there will be no fuel problems

''I am not surprised that the president’s veto concerning the sale of Lukoil’s assets was overturned, because even on such a delicate, serious and worrying issue, there were no arguments or discussion'', Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists..

published on 11/6/25 5:54 PM
A press conference of the Bulgarian Association of Sterility and Reproductive Health

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% since 1994

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% over the past three decades. In 1994, 79,442 live births were registered in the country, while in 2024 the number dropped to 53,428. 6.5% of Bulgarian children are now born through in vitro fertilization..

published on 11/6/25 5:15 PM

MPs override President's veto on changes to Investment Promotion Act

The majority in parliament overcame the president's veto on the Investment Promotion Act. The bill was passed in second reading on October 24, but President Rumen Radev vetoed parts of it, arguing that the proposed rules specifically..

published on 11/6/25 4:41 PM