Study: Bulgarians with a Firmer Stance on Relations with North Macedonia this Year

Over 70% of Bulgarians consider settling Skopje's relations with Sofia a priority, rather than Skopje's path to the European Union. Fluctuations in this regard have subsided within a year and the structure of opinions shows an almost automatic picture. The youngest and different minority groups are a little more distant from the topic.

The data comes from Gallup International's monthly independent research program. The study was conducted "face to face" with tablets between November 25 and December 3 among 803 adult Bulgarians.

71.1% of Bulgarians agree that the most important thing is to settle the relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, and it is not so important whether the Republic of North Macedonia will become a member of the European Union. The opposite opinion is 7.5%. The remaining 21.4% are hesitant.

Representatives of the youngest age group and people with lower education seem a little more inclined to ignore the problems in our relations with North Macedonia. However, the share of those who support the option of North Macedonia to become a member of the EU, regardless of the problems in relations with Bulgaria, does not exceed one tenth. The strongest in their position that the most important thing is to settle the relations between the two countries, and not so much whether North Macedonia will join the EU, are the university graduates, the age groups over 45 and the residents of the capital - Sofia. The share of those who hesitate again is among the younger respondents, people with primary or lower education, as well as the respondents who identify themselves as Turks and Roma. For comparison: in the capital - where groups with higher incomes and education are concentrated, in the more active...