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 recognition of the Bulgarian minority by Skopje would be in compliance with the 1999 Joint Declaration. It is worth mentioning, however, that in this particular aspect the Declaration is asymmetrical, explicitly excluding any official action by the Republic of Macedonia to protect the status of persons in Bulgaria who are not citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.

As for the possible number of Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia, concerns are expressed that official recognition of the Bulgarian minority there might reveal its small size. However, regardless of that size Bulgarian policy should be based on reality rather than wishful thinking. Bulgaria’s behaviour until now of avoiding the issue of recognition of the Bulgarian minority in the Republic of Macedonia has two possible interpretations. The first is that despite the large number of people (tens of thousands and growing) claiming Bulgarian ethnic origins in the last few years and granted Bulgarian citizenship on this basis, there is actually no Bulgarian minority in the Republic of Macedonia but rather some ‘crypto-Bulgarians’ who would gradually diminish with the succession of generations. The other interpretation is based on the assumption that there are indeed Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia but they are more than just a minority; supporters of this interpretation maintain that there is currently a widespread process of re-Bulgarization which in the near future will return the Vardar Macedonians into the mainstream of the historical continuity inherent to neighbouring Pirin Macedonia. Apparently, such radically divergent interpretations derive from isolated cases rather than from objective representative data on actual processes. In any case, with their referral to assumed future reality, such interpretations do not contribute to bringing current Bulgarian policies into line with present-day reality.

Another frequently expressed concern is that the recognition of the Bulgarian minority would ‘encapsulate’ and isolate it from the larger category of people in the Republic of Macedonia (over 200,000, according to some rough expert estimates) who have dual ethnic self-awareness, identifying both as Bulgarians and Macedonians at the same time. This concern is groundless. Prominent Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia have repeatedly stressed the need for more robust and proactive support on the part of Bulgaria. Undoubtedly, an important element of such support would be to take care of the Bulgarian minority whose recognition, visible presence, and self- confidence would also help to strengthen, and not weaken, the Bulgarian dimension in those who identify both as Macedonian