Lobbying, negligence or even a breach in national security - how does Skopje manages to learn in advance about Bulgarian proposals related to European documents? This question came after the Prime Minister of our south-western neighbour, Hristijan Mickoski, revealed he was familiar with texts from the report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia in its European integration. He pointed out that Bulgaria has proposed that the document includes the definition of "modern" Macedonian identity, culture and language, instead of the previously proposed "centuries-old".

We recall that Radio Bulgaria was among the first media to write about the fact that Mickoski and the North Macedonian authorities could not have found out about the content of the report through official channels, i.e. it is certainly a matter of a leak of information. Official information about the proposals for changes in the report, which currently number over 300, is only available to the main rapporteur – Thomas Waitz of the Green Party, as well as to the 7 so-called "shadow rapporteurs".

• New tensions along the Sofia–Skopje axis: Will Bulgaria be able to defend its interests in the European Parliament?

The blunder, whether intentional or not, led to an avalanche of reactions, ultimately resulting in the postponement of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, which is expected to meet on the topic on June 24.

• Report on North Macedonia’s EU progress postponed

This was followed by an unprecedented unification of absolutely all of Bulgaria's representatives in the EP and 17 MEPs demanded a full investigation into the case. A reaction also followed at a high level in the executive branch – from Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev.

• Prime Minister says Bulgaria has no unresolved bilateral issue with Skopje

• Bulgaria will not back down from its conditions for EU membership of North Macedonia

• Parliament urges Skopje to respect commitments regarding the rights of Bulgarians

"There is no reason to rejoice over the postponement of the vote on the report," says Ivaylo Valchev, one of the shadow rapporteurs, an MEP of ITN and the European Conservatives and Reformists Party, who was the first to signal about the case with "the centuries-old Macedonian identity and language".

"This is a postponement of the vote, not a postponement of the report. We have three weeks to seek the maximum that we can do and my wish as shadow rapporteur is for at least one more round of negotiations. Mr. Waitz, just as he was wise enough to request a postponement of the report, should be wise enough to organize another round of negotiations of the shadow rapporteurs, so that we can clear up all these sensitive issues.”

Valchev called on the Bulgarian state to activate its diplomacy, and the parties – their contacts with their sister parties and to explain where the problem lies.

"This report is unacceptable not for Bulgaria, but for the European Union. This report contains statements that cast doubt on some of the fundamental stones on which the European Union is built."

If there is an information leak in the direction of Skopje, where does it come from? The competent authorities in Brussels are yet to make a statement about this.

In no case is the postponement of the report a victory, but a "temporary lull", especially given that it is evident that the authorities in Skopje had a role in preparing the document, Kostadin Filipov, a member of the Macedonian Scientific Institute in Sofia, as well as a long-time journalist of the Bulgarian National Radio and correspondent in Skopje, said.

"We seem to be at ground zero in this situation. I have always been worried that Bulgarian diplomacy, when it comes to relations with the Republic of North Macedonia, is lagging behind, which is very strange," Filipov told Radio Bulgaria.

He pointed out that in the past 35 years, the authorities in Skopje have "internationalized" every bilateral problem - i.e. they do not seek a solution at a bilateral level but in the European Parliament with "legal, semi-legal and illegal means".

Undoubtedly, one can speak of strong lobbying on the part of Skopje, the experienced expert on the Western Balkans says. He adds that the actions and words of Mickoski, which many consider a mistake or unintentional are not accidental at all.

Whether Bulgaria would succeed in protecting its position or Skopje's lobbying would succeed in convincing the MEPs to accept the North Macedonian point of view on history, will be clear on June 24. At the moment the "battle" is entirely in the sphere of diplomacy and according to information from Radio Bulgaria, huge efforts are currently underway in this direction. But the efforts of the authorities in Skopje also do not stop.

Author: Ivan Gergov

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: europarl.europa.eu, BGNES, BTA, AP/BTA