With the conclusion of the 75th anniversary and NATO Summit in Washington, DC, the unilateral problems that Bulgaria and Greece each have with Macedonia have, once again, come to the fore. Bulgaria’s problem with Macedonia, although it did not garner as much attention as Greece’s at the summit, was nevertheless highlighted since much of the media, bureaucrats, diplomats, pundits and think tanks alike seem to enjoy talking about both issues at the same time as a way of increasing pressure on Macedonia. Bulgaria’s churlish demand – that Macedonia enshrine in the Macedonian constitution, Bulgarians as a people (all 3,500 of them) – before Bulgaria will agree to allow Macedonia to being EU accession talks, is nothing new. The new Macedonian government has come back with a tacit agreement, but with a request for modest modifications to that demand, including agreeing to it, but implementation being delayed until Macedonia is an EU member.
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Bulgaria and Greece raise their demands yet…
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With the conclusion of the 75th anniversary and NATO Summit in Washington, DC, the unilateral problems that Bulgaria and Greece each have with Macedonia have, once again, come to the fore. Bulgaria’s problem with Macedonia, although it did not garner as much attention as Greece’s at the summit, was nevertheless highlighted since much of the media, bureaucrats, diplomats, pundits and think tanks alike seem to enjoy talking about both issues at the same time as a way of increasing pressure on Macedonia. Bulgaria’s churlish demand – that Macedonia enshrine in the Macedonian constitution, Bulgarians as a people (all 3,500 of them) – before Bulgaria will agree to allow Macedonia to being EU accession talks, is nothing new. The new Macedonian government has come back with a tacit agreement, but with a request for modest modifications to that demand, including agreeing to it, but implementation being delayed until Macedonia is an EU member.