Bulgarian MEPs warn against ‘hate campaign’ in Serbia

11 months ago 31

Bulgarian MEPs from all political groups except the socialists have sent a letter to EU institutions warning of a “hate campaign” against Bulgaria in Serbia, a move coinciding with the presence in Brussels of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić for an EU-Western Balkans summit on Wednesday (13 December).

The letter, seen by Euractiv, is addressed to the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Council, the Council of Europe, and the permanent representatives of the EU member states.

Petar Vitanov, a socialist MEP, told Euractiv that he had signed an earlier version of the letter but withdrew his signature after “unnecessary texts relating to the communist period” were added to it.

He said he did not object to the spirit of the letter but rather to the form.

The letter says that in the Serbian public space, there is “continuous hate speech against the Bulgarian minority, instigated by the Serbian institutions, which creates difficult living conditions for the Bulgarian minority in Serbia”.

The MEPs remind that a century ago, between 91,000 and 120,000 Bulgarians lived in Serbia around Bosilegrad, close to the Bulgarian border. They say their number is systematically decreasing, and by last year, there were officially only 12,918 Bulgarians left.

The teaching of the Bulgarian language is limited, the preservation of Bulgarian cultural heritage is prevented in every way, the falsification of history from the time of Tito’s Yugoslavia continues, religious services in Bulgarian are not allowed, political, civil and environmental organisations and their activists, write the MEPs.

They add that in the media, an image of Bulgaria and the Bulgarians as dangerous enemies is systematically promoted.

Bulgaria and Serbia fought a war in 1885 and another one in 1913, then fighting in opposite camps in World War I. During World War II, part of Yugoslavia was occupied by Bulgaria, and during the Cold War, the relations between Belgrade and Sofia were of mutual suspicion and hostility.

“Together with its scientific-historical, state and military bodies and cultural institutions, Serbia misuses historical events from the First and Second World Wars to maintain hatred towards Bulgarians”, the letter says.

Serbia has also been accused of the “administrative ethnic cleansing” of ethnic Albanians from southern parts of the country with independent researchers putting the total at more than 6000.

Similarly, Albanians in the region are not allowed to hang their flag or access any services in their own language. Furthermore, their removal from the civil registry through passivisation leaves them without access to healthcare, education, the right to buy and sell property, or even to acquire identification documents.

‘Bulgarian atrocities’

In the last year, there have been many anti-Bulgarian manifestations, MEPs write, mentioning in particular an exhibition organised on New Year’s Eve of 2023 at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade under the title “Bulgarian atrocities in occupied Serbia 1915-1918”.

The MEPs write that the Serbian Orthodox Church, which is closely linked to Russian interests, has also contributed to creating anti-Bulgarian sentiments.

They also point out that mining companies with Russian capital have settled in the Serbian region of Bosilegrad and have polluted the water, air and soil, while the Serbian prosecutor’s office is taking action against the most active civic and eco-activists to intimidate them.

“With all this in mind, we appeal to the European institutions with a request that they intercede with the Serbian authorities for unconditional respect for the rights of the Bulgarian minority, taking urgent actions to improve the economy, road infrastructure, health care and the environment,” the MEPs wrote.

The Council Conclusions on EU enlargement, adopted on Tuesday, call on Serbia to pay particular attention “to the full respect of fundamental rights, including protection of the most vulnerable groups, as well as to the non-discriminatory treatment of persons belonging to minorities throughout Serbia”.

Also, the Council reiterates its concern about the limited progress on improving the overall environment for freedom of expression and the independence of the media, calling on Belgrade “to communicate objectively and unambiguously on the EU” and to “actively engage in preventing and tackling all forms of disinformation and foreign information manipulation in all media channels”.

The Council also calls on Serbian authorities to refrain from actions and statements against the EU positions on foreign policy and other strategic matters, with particular emphasis on Russia, with which relations are flourishing despite the Russian invasion of Crimea.

The EU-Western Balkans summit is called to reaffirm the EU membership perspective of the EU hopefuls Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It takes place one day before a cliffhanger EU summit, which could highlight the start of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.

On Sunday (17 December), Serbia will hold parliamentary elections. A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has expressed concern about “unprecedented levels of incitement to fear and attacks on the opposition”.

A Bulgarian diplomatic source said Sofia had raised the issues reflected in the letter some time ago, but reportedly a Serbian representative to the EU expressed surprise and said they would ask Belgrade. There was no follow up, the source added.

Euractiv contacted Serbia’s representative to the EU for comment but no answer was received by the time of publication.