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Balkan Insight (22 July 2026)

Erwan Fouéré

Brussels’ double standards towards North Macedonia over its historical disagreements with Bulgaria reflect the EU’s wider failure to adopt a strategy that addresses various bilateral disputes in the Western Balkans.(*)

During her recent visit to North Macedonia, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called on the government to adopt a constitutional amendment agreed by the previous government under the so-called “French proposal” in 2022.

This arose after Bulgaria refused to allow accession negotiations with North Macedonia to move forward until the government in Skopje agreed to amend its constitution to recognise the existence of a Bulgarian minority. Other demands related to the history, identity and language of Bulgaria’s closest neighbour.

(*) AVİM considers the term "Western Balkans" to be a politically motivated separatist terminology and persists on the use of the geographical and historical identification "Balkans" regarding the region.

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