North Macedonia’s prime minister says Bulgaria endangered his family after travel details were published online
SKOPJE, June 23 (BV) — North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said he had informed NATO partners that the publication of a diplomatic note related to his family’s private trip to Bulgaria had endangered their security, in the latest escalation of already strained relations between Skopje and Sofia.
The document, reportedly sent by North Macedonia’s embassy in Sofia to Bulgarian authorities in January, contained details of a planned stay by Mickoski’s wife and younger son at the Bulgarian ski resort of Pamporovo.
According to Macedonian media reports, the document included information about vehicles, accompanying security staff, weapons carried by the protection team and communication frequencies. It was later published on social media and picked up by pro-Bulgarian online outlets.
Mickoski described the leak as a diplomatic precedent and said it showed that relations with Bulgaria were not improving but “radicalising”.
“This endangered the security of my family,” Mickoski said, adding that North Macedonia is a NATO member and that alliance partners had been informed.
The leak comes amid renewed tensions between the two neighbours over North Macedonia’s stalled EU accession path. Bulgaria has insisted that Skopje implement constitutional changes recognising Bulgarians as a constituent community before accession talks can move forward.
Sofia has maintained that the 2022 European compromise cannot be renegotiated, while Mickoski’s government says it wants guarantees that no further bilateral demands will follow.
The incident also follows the burning of two Bulgarian diplomatic vehicles in Skopje earlier this month, which Bulgarian officials described as an attack on their state.
Mickoski said the government would remain focused on reforms, the economy and the EU agenda, but added that recent signals from Sofia gave him little reason for optimism.