In early July 2022, protests began in Skopje, North Macedonia. The protests were triggered by Bulgaria–North Macedonia negotiations surrounding the accession of the latter into the European Union.
Background North Macedonia (then named Macedonia) has been a candidate to join the European Union (EU) since 2005. The use of the country name "Macedonia" was the object of a dispute with neighbouring Greece between 1991 and 2019, resulting in a Greek veto against EU and NATO accession talks, which lasted from 2008 to 2019. After the issue was resolved with the 2018 Prespa Agreement, the EU gave its formal approval to begin accession talks in March 2020. However, in November 2020, Bulgaria refused to approve the European Union's negotiation framework for North Macedonia, thereby blocking the start of the country's negotiations with the EU, having prior made demands for North Macedonia to fulfil the 2017 Bulgarian-Macedonian Friendship Treaty. The conclusion of the treaty played a decisive role in Bulgaria's agreement to approve North Macedonia's NATO candidacy, and its implementation is considered by it a key to the negotiation process with the EU. North Macedonia and Bulgaria have very complicated relations, and the Bulgarian factor is known in Macedonian politics as "B-complex".Kyril Drezov, Bulgaria and Macedonia: Voluntary Dependence on External Actors in Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe Volume 2: International and Transnational Factors with Jan Zielonka and Alex Pravda as ed., Oxford University Press, 2001; , pp. 413-414. According to the official Bulgarian position, it cannot "accept that the still ongoing nation-building process in the Republic of North Macedonia be conducted through the revision of our common history, the denial of our common ethnic and linguistic roots or the unfounded claims for the existence of a ‘Macedonian minority’ in Bulgaria."Mathieu Neelen, Eurosceptic opposition parties in North Macedonia attempt obstruction of EU accession. European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, 27 Sep 2022 .Boris Georgievski, Bulgaria asks EU to stop 'fake' Macedonian identity. Deutsche Welle, 23.09.2020. Valentina Dimitrievska, North Macedonia protests against deal with Bulgaria enter third day. bne IntelliNews, July 4, 2022.
In June 2022, France, at the end of its rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, sent a proposal (known as the French proposal) for the EU negotiation framework of North Macedonia, as well as to serve as a compromise deal between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
French proposal The proposal includes the condition to stop "hate speech" against all "minorities and communities", and that North Macedonia respect the 2017 Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria.The proposal... talks of the Macedonian government's obligation to protect the rights of all "minorities and communities" by preventing "hate speech" and discrimination. No Easy Escape For North Macedonia From Bulgaria's EU Veto. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22, 2022. On 24 June, after heated discussions, the Bulgarian parliament had already approved this proposal. The ruling political coalition parties in North Macedonia accepted the agreement.North Macedonia: Protesters clash with police over Bulgarian demands. 06.07.2022, Deutsche Welle. North Macedonia's President Pendarovski and the Social Democrat-led government backed the proposed deal too.N Macedonia protests grow over France's controversial EU seat proposal. 07.07.2022, TRT World. Its opponents in North Macedonia said that it threatens the country's national identity and makes too many concessions to Bulgaria by claiming the country's language and ethnicity have Bulgarian roots. The supporters of the proposal said it does not contradict the national interest or North Macedonia's identity. According to a survey by the Institute for Political Research from Skopje in July 2022, 72,80% of ethnic Macedonians and 56% of the total number of respondents answered that they would not accept the beginning of negotiations with the EU, at the price of the country agreeing to the proposal.
Former European Union Special Representative Erwan Fouéré criticized the "French proposal" for allegedly incorporating bilateral issues into the accession process. According to him, Bulgaria insists on imposing its own version of events during and after the World War II, and that the proposal undermines the EU's entire accession process. Political scientist Florian Bieber described it as a "disaster for EU enlargement". According to him, the "French proposal" will encourage extreme nationalists and increase inter-ethnic tensions. He also pointed out the "double standards" with Bulgaria in relation to the treatment of its ethnic Macedonian minority and criticized Bulgaria for insisting that nothing in the accession process can be interpreted as a recognition of the existence of the Macedonian language. According to him, the proposal sets a "dangerous precedent", by accepting bilateral issues in the EU enlargement process and would encourage revisionist nationalist bullying by more powerful neighbours against those outside the EU. Austrian historian Ulf Brunnbauer has similar objections in his criticism of the proposal.
The first foreign minister of the then Republic of Macedonia and professor of international law, Denko Maleski, said that the proposal should be supported and that it can unite North Macedonia and Bulgaria into finding a solution, stressing the importance of France in resolving the problem. According to Macedonian intellectual Katerina Kolozova, the proposal does not threaten Macedonian identity and language. She also criticised the opposition for what she described as "... the opposition's disinformation campaign against the document succeeded in drawing in supposedly “neutral” and pro-Western civil society organisations, which also raised the banners of “NO to [this] EU” and “NO to an EU that wants to render us Bulgarian”."
Protests The protests, which started on 2 July, were organized by some nationalist and leftist parties, primarily VMRO-DPMNE, its coalition Renewal, Levica, Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia and others."От македонец българин не става". Протестите в Скопие. Протестите в Скопие продължават с блокади. Mediapool.bg, 08 юли 2022. . They rejected the EU's proposal to approve the country's negotiating framework, also known as the French proposal. The protesters rallied under the slogan "Ultimatum, No Thanks!" They also carried posters with inscriptions: "Fuck the EU" and "Bulgarian fascism - European value".Мартин Стоянов, "Е..л съм ти майката ЕС” и “Българи фашисти”: Хиляди излязоха на протест срещу френското предложение в Скопие. BG VOICE, 04 юли, 2022.
On 4 July, Macedonian singer Lambe Alabakovski symbolically burned the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria, the 2018 Prespa agreement with Greece and the so-called French proposal for the start of North Macedonia's negotiation process with the EU, calling these documents fascist.North Macedonia: Nationalist protesters reject French EU proposal. Deutsche Welle, 03.07.2022. Alabakovski was arrested a month earlier by the police in Bitola in connection with a fire at the Bulgarian cultural center in the city. The European flag was set on fire in one instance by activists of minor pro-Russian party Rodina Makedonija.Подпалвачът от Битоля изгори плакати на Договора със Скопие и френското предложение. БНТ, 04.07.2022. The protesters chanted "Resignation", "Never North, just Macedonia", "ASNOM lives", "Bulgarian fascists" and sang patriotic songs.
On 5 July, 47 policemen were injured. Protesters threw various items at the parliament building, government building and the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Skopje. Offensive and even vulgar chants against the European Union and Bulgaria were heard during the protests. Slogans were raised that Bulgaria is a "fascist state" and the EU is a "fascist union".Европа също става „фашистка“ за опозицията в Скопие. ВМРО-ДПМНЕ разпалва обществена истерия срещу „българизацията на Македония“. Сега, 08 Юли 2022. Protesters in Skopje carried the former national flag with the Star of Vergina, abandoned under Greek pressure, because of its relation to the controversial antiquization nation building policy,Tchavdar Marinov, Famous Macedonia, the Land of Alexander: Macedonian Identity at the Crossroads of Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian Nationalism. In: Entangled Histories of the Balkans - Volume One, pp. 273–330Anastas Vangeli (2011) Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia, Nationalities Papers, 39:1, 13-32,James Bridle, New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future, Verso Books, 2018 , p. 233. as well as red flags with communist symbols. Violence escalated further when small groups of ethnic Macedonians and Albanians, clashed in the centre of Skopje, at the Skanderbeg Square. During the clash, demonstrators threw rocks and hard objects, and one armed person was present, with shots being fired into the air. The armed person was later apprehended by the police. On 7 July, the "Albanian Alliance" announced the ending of its partnership with VMRO-DPMNE.
On 14 July, thousands of protesters protested in front of the parliament, while the French proposal was being discussed. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen came to address the parliament, where she was met with whistles and jeers from the opposition MPs. The opposition MPs wore t-shirts with the word "no" written on them in red and held up banners against the French proposal. At one point, MP Apasiev served von der Leyen a pamphlet with a large "NO" written on it. Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski also addressed the parliament and asked the MPs to accept the deal, while the opposition MPs protested. During the same day, a demonstration march was led by Kumanovo Municipality Mayor Maksim Dimitrievski in Kumanovo. On the next day an opposition lawmaker compared von der Leyen's visit to the Nazis' activity related to the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring, which was condemned by SDSM and the Democratic Union for Integration. VMRO-DPMNE also threatened that Prime Minister Kovačevski will be in prison for what he is doing to (North) Macedonia and its people.Маринела Величкова, Власт и опозиция с призиви и обвинения преди заседанието в РСМ за френското предложение. Dir.bg, 15 юли 2022. On 16 July, the former Foreign Minister from VMRO-DPMNE Antonio Milošoski accused the ruling Social Democrats of treason. A deputy of the SDSM, asked him "who are you to call us traitors, you who has several passports in your pocket", alluding to the claims that he has Bulgarian citizenship,Каракачанов огласи видни македонци с български паспорти. Списъкът съвпада с имена от антибългарската партия ВМРО-ДПМНЕ, която реагира гневно. Сега, 11 Март 2021 . as many other Macedonians.Жолчна дебата зачинета со свирежи и обвинувања. Од НМ - 16.07.2022. At the end of the same session, with 68 "yes" votes, the parliament approved draft conclusions, giving the government a mandate to negotiate within the so-called "French proposal".