Goran Kitevski
DOI: 10.35666/23038950.2024.52.151
UDC: 911.3:32”2017/2025”(497.7:497.2)
Abstract: The French proposal and North Macedonia’s european perspective: a political geography
This paper examines the so-called French Proposal, a diplomatic framework specifically designed to overcome Bulgaria’s veto and facilitate the continuation of North Macedonia’s accession process to the European Union. The proposal’s most contested element is the requirement to amend North Macedonia’s Constitution to explicitly include Bulgarians as a constituent people —an obligation that serves as a gateway for opening a broader negotiation process. This requirement is embedded within a broader framework that incorporates the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness, and Cooperation, thereby elevating a long standing bilateral dispute to the level of a formal EU accession criterion. By integrating identity-related and historical disputes into the negotiation process, the proposal effectively Europeanizes a bilateral issue. This study argues that the constitutional amendment represents only one aspect of a deeper and enduring challenge: the identity-based dispute with Bulgaria, now institutionalized within the EU framework, will remain a decisive factor influencing both the pace and prospects of North Macedonia’s European integration.
Keywords
French proposal, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, European Union, Good-neighborliness
GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW - SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL FOR GEOGRAPHY No 52, Year 2025. pg. 151-173