North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski declared on Wednesday that Bulgaria is pursuing a long-standing strategy aimed at erasing the Macedonian nation and identity. The statement came in response to developments in the European Parliament, where references to “ Macedonian identity and language ” were removed from the EU ’s progress report on North Macedonia following amendments submitted by MEPs Andrzej Halicki (EPP), Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D), and Dan Barna (Renew Europe).