Bulgarian politicians spark tension over Macedonian language status

Political tensions between Bulgaria and North Macedonia have escalated following a volleyball match at the European Championship. Former Bulgarian Ambassador to Skopje, Aleksandar Jordanov, criticized the Macedonian national team, claiming the prevalence of surnames ending in -ov and -ev gave the impression of playing against a non-foreign team. He further alleged that Macedonian player Gjorgji Gjorgjiev displayed ‘anti-Bulgarian doping’ by requesting to speak English with journalists instead of Bulgarian.

Building on this friction, Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the Bulgarian far-right party Vazrazhdane, has submitted an initiative to the Bulgarian Parliament to have the Macedonian language officially treated as a Bulgarian dialect. Kostadinov characterized the Macedonian players' decision to communicate in English as ‘political violence,’ arguing that individuals should not be forced to speak a foreign language instead of what he defines as their ‘mother Bulgarian dialect.’ He cited the constitutional status of regional languages in Catalonia as a precedent for recognizing Bulgarian norms in North Macedonia.