The European Parliament has adopted its 2025 progress report on North Macedonia, sending a strong message that the country must fulfill its existing commitments before advancing further on its path toward European Union membership. The resolution was approved during a plenary session in Strasbourg with 411 votes in favor and 120 against.
A central element of the report is the repeated insistence that Skopje carry out the constitutional amendments it previously agreed to, including the inclusion of Bulgarians in the country's Constitution. The document reiterates the position of the Council of the EU that the next intergovernmental conference can take place only after these constitutional changes are completed through North Macedonia's internal procedures.
MEPs also rejected an attempt to remove a controversial section related to historical issues. An amendment submitted by rapporteur Thomas Waitz seeking to delete Paragraph 73 failed to gain support. A majority of 338 lawmakers voted to retain the text, while 126 supported its removal. The paragraph urges the Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Committee on Historical and Educational Issues to produce “clear and tangible results” based on “objective, authentic and proven historical sources and documents” in line with the Second Protocol under the Good Neighborly Relations Agreement between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The text also preserves references to the concept of a “common history.”
