THE FRIENDSHIP TREATY BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA WITH BULGARIA : CHALLENGES OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATION WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION

Developments between two or more states that happened in the past should not always be a point of reference in the progress of relations in the future of these first. With the declaration of Macedonia's independence, Bulgaria was among the first to recognize it as a state and helped the "growth" of Macedonia in the international arena. As eastern neighbors in terms of geography, Macedonia and Bulgaria have had a good time without violating each other's sovereignty and without presenting difficulties to each other. In 2017, this friendship was crowned with the friendship treaty between them, but at the moment that Macedonia changed its constitutional name to the Republic of North Macedonia in the hope of avoiding the biggest problem before joining the European Union, it felt too comfortable. Unexpectedly, the veto was used by Bulgaria, which imposed the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution as a condition for Macedonia. In this research paper, it is intended to elaborate and analyze what is the best way to solve the problem without harming the cultural, historical and existential identity of the two states. The main objective of this paper will be to provide hypotheses that will serve to avoid disagreements and remove "pebbles" from the road to the European Union membership of the Republic of North Macedonia.