Bulgarian MFA: Serbia's attitude towards the Bulgarians in the Western suburbs violates basic EU principles

"We find surprising and highly inappropriate statements which, through hypotheses and in pursuit of domestic political goals, call into question the existence of Bulgarians in Serbia and the need to protect their rights. This harms the dignity of our compatriots in this neighbouring country and in no way contributes to the development of good neighbourly relations with Bulgaria".

This point is made in a statement of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided to the BGNES Agency in response to the recent scandalous comments made by the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic.

"As before, Bulgaria will continue to ensure the rights of all Bulgarian communities abroad. This is one of the main priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Regarding the Republic of Serbia and the Bulgarian national minority there, Bulgaria will continue to insist that the institutions in this neighbourong country respect their own legislation in the field of the rights of national minorities, as well as the commitments arising from the EU accession process," the document reads.

It emphasizes that "the difference between the constitutional structure of Serbia and other countries, including Bulgaria, cannot be used as an argument for a possible refusal of the Serbian state to fulfil its commitment to guarantee the rights and freedoms of the representatives of national minorities, including Bulgarians".

"We find surprising and extremely inappropriate statements which, through hypotheses and in pursuit of domestic political goals, cast doubt on the existence of Bulgarians in Serbia and the need to protect their rights. This harms the dignity of our compatriots in this neighbouring country and in no way contributes to the development of good neighbourly relations with Bulgaria. Such behaviour contradicts the basic principles and values of the European Union and Serbia's declared aspiration to join this democratic family," the Foreign Ministry's declaration further reads.

BGNES reminds that Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic called on Bulgaria to "recognise the existence of a Serbian national minority in Bulgaria". In the morning TV show "Novo Jutro" Dacic, who is pointed out as the closest politician to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, was also angered by the fact that "Bulgaria does not recognise national minorities". "Bulgaria does not recognise national minorities, but instead, it protests so much about the bad situation of Bulgarians in Serbia. And this is really ... But when we tell them about the Serbs in Bulgaria, then they answer: "There are no Serbs in Bulgaria". Ah, that means we say "No Bulgarians in Serbia!". Then there are no problems with a Bulgarian national minority," said Dacic, who was the right-hand man of former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic and his official spokesman.

According to Dacic, "wherever there are different ethnic groups, there are wars, conflicts and crises".

This is not Dacic's first brutal provocation towards Bulgaria. At the beginning of January 2020, speaking to state television, Dacic, during a commentary on relations with Montenegro, suddenly went in a raging rant: 'What kind of internal affairs are we talking about in the European Union today?! There you have Bulgarians, who in Serbia are only 0.26 per cent of our population. That is how many Bulgarians there are in Serbia. But Bulgaria, at every European Council meeting, raises the issue of the rights of the Bulgarian national minority?"

In just a few decades the Bulgarian minority in the Western suburbs was literally annihilated. From over 120,000 before, it now numbers about 20,000, who live in utter misery. / BGNES