The Central Council of Macedonians in Berlin has urged Members of the European Parliament to support Amendment 108 by MEP Thomas Waitz. The amendment requires the Legal Service of the Council of the EU to provide an independent opinion on whether the Second Bilateral Protocol between Macedonia and Bulgaria is part of the negotiating framework for EU membership. The Council says that so far there is no clear legal confirmation of this, although the protocol is in practice treated as an obligation in the accession process.
The statement reads that the protocol contains requirements related to the Macedonian language, history and national identity, which, according to the Council, creates legal uncertainty and raises doubts about possible violations of the fundamental principles of the EU, including the prohibition of discrimination and respect for national identity. It is also pointed out that the Council of the EU, when adopting the negotiating framework, allegedly did not conduct a substantive legal analysis of the content of the protocol.
The text also mentions the initiative launched by Liljana Popovska before the Constitutional Court, which requests that the Second Protocol be declared null and void. She claims that the document is not a full-fledged international agreement, but rather a report of a joint commission, which cannot impose constitutional and identity obligations on the state.
The Central Council also recalls that in May 2026 it filed a complaint with the European Commission against Bulgaria due to, as it states, identity-political demands towards Macedonia. According to them, Amendment 108 does not take a political side, but aims to ensure legal certainty, greater trust in the enlargement process and respect for European values and the rule of law.
