North Macedonia president rejects Bulgarian demands over European Union bid

North Macedonia President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova has stated that her country's European Union accession efforts are being held hostage by Bulgaria, Euronews reported on Tuesday. Speaking on the sidelines of the Euronews Enlargement Summit, she criticized demands from Sofia requiring Skopje to amend its constitution to recognize the country's Bulgarian minority. [1]

Siljanovska-Davkova, who has been in power since 2024, argued that her country is already a champion at changing its constitution after doing so 26 times, with most amendments being imposed. She added that her legitimacy derives from the citizens and further concessions cannot be introduced without public support, according to Euronews. [1]

North Macedonia is a landlocked Southeastern European country of over 1.83 million people, where ethnic Macedonians form the majority alongside a significant Albanian minority of about 25 percent. The nation declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and changed its official name to North Macedonia in 2019 to resolve a long-standing dispute with Greece, which enabled it to join NATO in 2020. [4][6]

Although North Macedonia has held EU candidate status since 2005, accession negotiations that opened in 2022 remain stalled. The blockage is primarily driven by Bulgarian objections regarding historical, linguistic, and ethnic issues alongside demands for minority recognition. [1][6]