Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Monday the Constitution would be opened ahead of the country’s EU accession in order to align it with Union member-states by embedding smaller ethnic communities in the country that are not listed as others.
“We opened this debate a few years ago at the request of the Croats and the Montenegrins in our country. For example, Albania has already done this. At the time of our accession, we will open the Constitution and embed the smaller ethnic communities living in our country that are not listed as others. We have no prejudice over this. If someone wants us to do this tomorrow, we can’t do it because we do not hold a two-thirds majority and we shouldn’t. But I say this in public because Bulgarians, Croats, Montenegrins, Balkan Egyptians and many other ethnic communities will be embedded in our Constitution in light of the accession,” PM Zaev told reporters when asked if Bulgarians would be listed in the Constitution.
On the reciprocity for Macedonians in the Bulgarian constitution, the PM said this is an issue for Sofia.
“This is Bulgaria’s right. It is always nice to have reciprocity but interference in the domestic affairs of neighboring countries is not a message of friendship. This is up to them. I am saying we will do this for our own sake not because Bulgaria, Croatia or Montenegro or anyone else wants this,” noted Zaev.
Bulgarian caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev said Friday the changing the Constitution of North Macedonia is one of the ways to resolve issues with members of the Bulgarian national community in the country.
