NORTH MACEDONIA

July 10, 2022

Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country’s long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other.

About:

North Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It is a landlocked country bordering Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west.
North Macedonia has been an EU candidate for 17 years. The country emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and sought to forge a strong national identity.
The most recent obstacle is a veto by EU member Bulgaria.
Bulgaria blocked the renamed nation’s attempts to join the EU, accusing Skopje of disrespecting shared cultural and historic ties.
Among Bulgaria’s key demands were acknowledgment that the language of North Macedonia derived from Bulgarian, and the recognition of a Bulgarian minority.

Source : Indian Express