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

Skopje's Foreign Minister says Bulgarians in North Macedonia number 3,500

Photo: BGNES

There are 3,500 Bulgarians in North Macedonia, Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. 

The figure was contested by Bulgarian MEPs. They raised the issue of the mistreatment of Macedonian Bulgarians in the former Yugoslav republic.

"We know that even today over 120,000 Macedonian citizens have Bulgarian citizenship based on their Bulgarian ethnic origin," MEP Andrey Kovatchev said. He called "unprecedented" the accusations of the prosecutor's office of North Macedonia against the presidents of the Bulgarian clubs in Ohrid and Bitola that they incite hatred. Our main goal is to overcome all these problems coming from the past and the rapid membership of North Macedonia in the EU, Kovatchev emphasized.
Osmani assured that the Bulgarians will be included in the North Macedonian constitution, BNR correspondent Angelina Piskova reported from Brussels.



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

General Labour Inspectorate identifies 51,000 violations in the first three months of 2025

In the first quarter of 2025, the control bodies of the General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency shut down three times more sites, workplaces, machines and equipment that posed a direct threat to the life and health of workers, compared to the same..

published on 4/11/25 4:44 PM

Police detain tourist bus driver with over 2 permille of alcohol in his blood

The police in the town of Veliko Tarnovo (Central North Bulgaria) detained a tourist bus driver with more than 2 permille of alcohol in his blood while on duty. A tourist agency had hired a transport company from Pleven to transport its..

published on 4/11/25 4:14 PM

Bulgaria is an active participant in initiatives aimed at strengthening the defense capabilities of the EU and NATO

As an EU member state and a NATO ally, Bulgaria is an active participant in solidarity initiatives aimed at strengthening our deterrence and defense capabilities, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said in his speech at the Antalya Diplomacy..

published on 4/11/25 2:32 PM