Bulgaria Brings Issue of Anti-Bulgarian Hate and Violence in North Macedonia Before Council of Europe

Bulgaria has formally raised concerns about violence and hate speech targeting the Bulgarian ethnic community in the Republic of North Macedonia before the Council of Europe. A written question on the issue has been submitted to the Committee of Ministers and registered as written question No. 806 on February 17, 2026, according to BGNES.

The initiative was taken by Denitsa Sacheva, Deputy Chair of the GERB parliamentary group and Bulgaria’s representative in the Parliamentary Assembly, where she is part of the EPP political family. In the document, she draws attention to repeated signals received by the Parliamentary Assembly, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the Commissioner for Human Rights regarding hostile acts and hate speech directed at people of Bulgarian origin in North Macedonia.

The text underlines that combating hate speech and hate crimes is a core obligation of all Council of Europe member states. It stresses the need for a broad and coordinated approach, including public awareness campaigns, specialised training for police and judicial authorities, and the consistent collection of detailed data on such incidents.

At the same time, the submission points out that, so far, the authorities in North Macedonia have not introduced specific or effective measures to curb violence and intimidation against the Bulgarian community. Reference is made to the post-monitoring dialogue report on North Macedonia from January 2026, which notes that ethnic Bulgarians have been subjected to verbal abuse, labeled as “fascists,” and in some cases physically attacked.

The document recalls concrete incidents highlighted in previous reports, including the arson attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Club in Bitola on June 4, 2024, and the assault on the club’s secretary in Ohrid on January 19, 2023. These cases are cited as evidence that the problem is persistent rather than isolated.

Particular attention is also paid to legislative amendments adopted by the North Macedonian parliament on November 2, 2022, which changed the Law on Foundations and Associations. According to the text, these changes were aimed at terminating the legal registration of organizations representing ethnic Bulgarians, raising serious legal concerns, especially because of the retroactive application of the new rules.

The written question concludes by asking the Committee of Ministers whether it is prepared to urge the authorities in North Macedonia to adopt comprehensive measures to prevent violence against the Bulgarian community and to actively counter hate speech and hate crimes. It also seeks clarification on what concrete steps the Council of Europe intends to take in response to these concerns.