site.btaBulgarian Foreign Ministry Publishes First Protocol under Treaty of Friendship with Republic of North Macedonia

In accordance with the arrangements of the protocol of the second meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia under Art. 12 of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, signed on July 17, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry published the protocol of the first meeting of the Commission, which was held on June 10, 2019, the Foreign Ministry said in a press release on Monday.

By signing the protocol in 2019, the governments of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia accepted the proposals of the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational Issues for joint commemorations of the following personalities from the common history of the two countries: Sts Cyril and Methodius, St Kliment, St Naum, and Tsar Samuil. The two governments also accept general principles, and notes on the content of fifth grade textbooks in Bulgaria and sixth grade textbooks in the Republic of North Macedonia.

In the bilateral protocol, signed in July, it was agreed that both sides would publish all the results of the work done by the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission within one month.

Historian Dragi Gjorgiev, Commission Co-Chairperson on the Macedonian side, said that the published texts are not binding. They will be presented to the two governments and, if adopted, must be included in the textbooks, he said.

In Gjorgiev’s words, the 19th century period and the Second World War will be difficult to agree on in the Bulgarian-Macedonian Commission.