Contemporary Relations between Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria
Contemporary Relations between Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: The Macedonian and Bulgarian states are two neighboring countries between which there is a rather unique dispute. Namely, the Republic of Bulgaria believes that the Macedonian language and the Macedonians in general, in the past did not exist and in fact were Bulgarians. The non-recognition of a separate Macedonian language by Bulgaria, for many years caused practical problems between the two countries because it was not possible to sign any bilateral Agreement. In order to overcome the previous disputed situations, two legal acts were signed, the Declaration of 1999 and, later, the 2017 Agreement. These two documents provide specific solutions to these issues. In this paper the texts of the two legal acts are analyzed and compared. The solutions provided in these acts form the framework and trajectory of future relations between the two countries. Having in mind the fact that Republic of Bulgaria is also part of the European Union (EU), and its neighbor is only a candidate, there is a danger that bilateral issues will indirectly become part of the package of conditions for EU membership and thus practically go beyond their bilateral character. As we will see below in the analysis of the texts, there is a certain asymmetry in the provisions of these two legal acts, primarily in relation to the Macedonian side. Undoubtedly, there are some positive sides but at the same time certain solutions listed in the two legal acts seem to be a source of new problems in the Macedonian-Bulgarian relations.

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