Bulgaria takes the issue of the burning of diplomatic vehicles in North Macedonia to the Council of Europe

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been informed about what was described as “a series of ongoing and troubling attacks against Bulgarian institutions, organizations, and citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia,” according to BGNES.

This concern was raised in a letter by MEP Denitsa Sacheva, sent to President Pablo Espan and members of the EPP/CD group in PACE shortly before the start of the assembly’s summer session, being held in Strasbourg from June 22 to 26.

In her letter, Sacheva argues that the burning of two diplomatic vehicles in front of the Bulgarian embassy in Macedonia should not be seen as an isolated incident.

According to her, this incident is part of a broader and troubling series of attacks that, in recent years, have targeted Bulgarian institutions, organizations, and citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia.

She also drew attention to “the attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Center in Macedonia in 2023, the vandalism against the Bulgarian Embassy in January 2026, the arson attack on the Ivan Mihajlov Cultural Club in Bitola, and the serious assault on Hristijan Pendikov, secretary of the Tsar Boris III Cultural Club in Ohrid.”

Sacheva stressed that these episodes, in her view, reflect a continuing and troubling trend of hostility toward Bulgarian institutions, organizations, and citizens in North Macedonia. She linked this climate to negative rhetoric toward Bulgaria and Bulgarians in some political and public debates, the insufficient response to hate speech, as well as the lack of effective prevention against those responsible for such acts.