Bulgarian Foreign Minister: 'Macedonian identity and language' irrelevant to Skopje's EU integration.

'International law does not address the recognition of identities and languages, and this also applies to North Macedonia,' said Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev, quoted by BGNES.

‘Formulations such as “recognition of Macedonian identity” and “recognition of the Macedonian language” are not categories of international law. They are not subject to recognition and are not part of the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership or the provisions relating to the enlargement process,’ he emphasised.

He further stated that such recommendations do not appear in other European Parliament resolutions on North Macedonia.

His statement was made in response to hopes expressed by officials in Skopje that the European Parliament's report on North Macedonia's progress towards European integration would acknowledge the existence of a ‘centuries-old Macedonian identity and language’.