North Macedonians protest at latest proposals in EU membership row

Thousands of North Macedonians have protested at proposed measures aimed at settling a row with neighbouring Bulgaria that is hampering Skopje's EU membership prospects, local media reported on Sunday. Demonstrators took to the streets of Skopje on Saturday evening, media reported, rallied by the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, which also demanded the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski, a Social Democrat. The opposition party announced a further protest for Sunday evening. Bulgaria has blocked the launch of EU membership negotiations with North Macedonia since late 2020, arguing that Skopje does not accept the Bulgarian interpretation of their shared history and has not enshrined this in its constitution or in school curriculums. Sofia considers the Macedonian language to be a Bulgarian dialect, while the two sides are also embroiled in a dispute about rights for North Macedonia's Bulgarian minority. In recent days, France has presented various compromise options in an attempt to make progress on the issue, as it wrapped up its six-month presidency of the European Union. VMRO-DPMNE decried the latest French proposal as a 'legalization of the assimilation of the Macedonian people,' accusing Kovačevski's government of accepting 'humiliations and distortions of identity.' Before the current spat with Sofia, it was Paris that had spearheaded opposition to launching formal accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, which both have formal EU candidate status.