Earlier this month, I was invited to share my thoughts on the next chapter of Bulgarian-Macedonian relations for the Res Publica Blog of the Institute of Communication Studies of North Macedonia. I republish my commentary titled ‘The Bulgarian-Macedonian Hala Meets EU Hyprocrisy’ with the permission of the editors:

The Bulgarian-Macedonian Hala Meets EU Hypocrisy

In the mythology of Slavic people living in the Balkans, the hala is a moody vicious dragon tormenting villages with thunderstorms and depriving them of harvest. While legends diverge, in some regions, it is believed that this supernatural ruthless monster eats children and hurts adults (on the hala’s numerous powers, see Ronesa Aveela, Spirits & Creatures Series Collection: Household Spirits, Rusalki, Dragons & Dragon Tales). The hala could be a metaphor for the Bulgarian-Macedonian tensions over cultural identity. Once in a while, this monster makes a sudden appearance on either side of the Bulgarian-Macedonian border and demonstrates its bad temper. According to Bulgarian mainstream beliefs, the Macedonian hala heartlessly devours Bulgarian history and threatens the fruit of Bulgarian culture. From a Macedonian perspective, the Bulgarian hala cruelly engulfs the EU future of Macedonian children and threatens Macedonian identity.

In the latest chapter of Bulgarian-Macedonian relations marked by the Bulgaria-Macedonia Friendship Treaty of 2017 and the subsequent notorious Bulgarian veto, the Bulgarian-Macedonian hala started living an EU life. However, will this EU life finally calm down the hala, especially after the bilateral protocol of July 17^th, 2022 supplementing the treaty and paving the way to Macedonia’s EU negotiations?

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