Its language and history give North Macedonia its identity for president Stevo Pendarovski, but for Bulgaria neither of them are real, in a dispute holding up EU enlargement.
"The mainstay of our identity is our language, after that, history, our shared history with our compatriots," Pendarovski told EUobserver in an interview.
"It's not a secret that we codified the Macedonian language in 1945, but it's a separate language, very close to Bulgarian, but it is not, and has not be...
Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member
Already a member? Login hereAndrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.