Bulgarian MP Angel Georgiev barred from entering North Macedonia, tensions rise between Skopje and Sofia

Relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria faced renewed tensions after Bulgarian MP Angel Georgiev was barred from entering North Macedonia on September 27. He was traveling to attend the trial of Bulgarian national Iva Mihaila.

Following the incident, North Macedonia’s acting ambassador in Sofia, Teodora Tsaneva, was summoned yesterday to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry to provide explanations.

Georgiev initially told Bulgarian media that he had not been given an explanation as to why he could not continue his journey. Later, he told the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) that at the border he had been informed of certain court costs he had to pay before being allowed to enter the country.

According to the MP, the measure was unjustified. He said the costs were related to proceedings against 27 members of his party, “Revival,” and that he had not previously been informed of the obligation to pay them. Georgiev announced that he would also seek a response from European institutions.

Describing what happened at the border, he said he was stopped without explanation and that only after about an hour and a half was he told about the legal costs. According to him, the authorities did not clarify either the reason or the amount in concrete terms. He added that, according to unofficial information they had received, the matter involved an administrative case against 27 members of the “Vazrazhdane” group, who were suspected of having entered North Macedonia illegally while traveling to Kajmakçalan. Georgiev denied this claim.

Bulgarian institutions are responding through diplomatic channels and have described the case as provocative. They stress that Georgiev had entered North Macedonia several times previously without encountering any problems.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said that during the meeting with Tsaneva, it sought to learn why the authorities in Skopje had taken this action precisely now, when Georgiev had entered North Macedonia without hindrance in previous months in connection with the same case. /Telegrafi/