North Macedonia and Bulgaria held talks to improve relationship

Bulgaria and North Macedonia have a shaky past, but it appears that the two nations have reached some form of reconciliation thanks to a recent talk. Kiril Petkov and Dimitar Kovačevski, the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia respectively, met in the North Macedonian capital Skopje to discuss their future and how to build a better relationship. 

Shortly after, they held a press conference outlining their goals and plans. Kovačevski revealed that they planned to start cooperating in all kinds of key issues, including culture, trade, education, and history. 

A tale of two nations

Tensions between the two nations have always been high due to a complex history and shared heritage and resulting disputes, but relations have truly exacerbated over the last few years. The most recent event to damage the relationship between the nations came when Bulgaria prevented North Macedonia from joining the European Union in 2020.

Other nations have also been pulled into the conflict, with Bulgaria also blocking Albania in its bids to join the EU.

However, this isn’t the only point of contention. The two Balkan countries had a 2017 agreement to respect their shared history, culture, and language, yet Bulgaria later argued that North Macedonia had failed to stick to their side of the deal.

The agreement

Part of the new deal to work toward peace has seen Bulgaria agree to use the term “North Macedonia” to describe its neighbor. Previously, Bulgaria had shown reluctance to do this due to fearing the country had ambitions to take over their own territory.

Although the slight name change seems like a minor detail, those familiar with the region will understand that it’s a major step forward — and it’s just the beginning of a hopefully prosperous future relationship.

However, it won’t be plain sailing. Bulgaria has asked North Macedonia to recognize the ethnic Bulgarians that live within its boundaries, yet it fails to recognize the Macedonian minority that live within Bulgarira. It’s certainly a complicated issue.

It also remains to be resolved whether Bulgaria will aid North Macedonia’s efforts to join the EU, with no breakthrough being reached.