On 22 February 1999 Prime Ministers Ivan Kostov of Bulgaria and Ljubcho Georgievski of the Republic of Macedonia signed in Sofia a Joint Declaration which, in the opinion of all observers, will open up a true opportunity for resolving controversial issues and normalizing the bilateral relations. There are two paragraphs in the Declaration which mark out the parameters of the compromise reached.

The first paragraph has to do with the so-called "language controversy" that used to divide the two countries and did not allow 22 agreements to be signed.  The declaration was signed "in the respective official languages of the two states - in the Bulgarian language under the terms of the Bulgarian Constitution and in Macedonian under the terms of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia".

This text explicitly shows that Macedonia has accepted one of the 12 Bulgarian formulae for the settlement of the language dispute suggested already in 1995. According to it, Bulgaria recognizes the Macedonian language as a language [used] on the territory of Macedonia, but not on Bulgarian soil. Thus it has become possible to overcome the differences and the deadlock without, however, completely resolving the problem, because in this way Bulgaria does not recognize in full either the language, or the Macedonian nation. The final settlement of this issue has been left for better times without fixing them specifically. The text concerning the language shall be present at the end of every agreement to be signed by the two countries in future.

The compromise made by the Bulgarian side consists in the official recognition of the Macedonian language in Macedonia, something which can be seen as a firm step towards a total recognition of the language and nation of Macedonia in the foreseeable future.

It may safely be said that the governments now in office in the two states are going to abandon the language controversy and the dispute will be continued by the historians and the philologists. The intentions of the two cabinets is to keep the politicians away from this discussion, but this is not very likely to happen in reality. There are parties and politicians in both countries that will try to politically capitalize on the new situation.

The second paragraph of the Declaration which deserves special attention is that "the two countries have no territorial claims to each other" and "nothing of the Macedonian Constitution may and shall be interpreted as a basis for interfering in Bulgaria's domestic affairs with the purpose of defending the status of persons in Bulgaria who are not citizens of the Republic of Macedonia".
By this text Macedonia declares that it will no longer have claims as to the existence of a Macedonian minority in Bulgaria and insist on granting it relevant rights and liberties. Here it is very important that this text directly contradicts Art. 49 of Macedonia's constitution stating that it shall protect the rights of the Macedonian minorities in Greece and Bulgaria.

It would be difficult for this part of the Declaration to be approved by the Macedonian Parliament. Former Macedonian ambassador in Sofia Georgi Spasov, who is now one of the leaders of the Social Democratic Union in Macedonia, has immediately opposed the Declaration based on its contradiction with Article 49 of the Macedonian Constitution. It has been confronted by the entire Socialist Party, which is now in opposition. In all likelihood, this text and the Declaration itself will also be rejected by President Kiro Gligorov. It may be assumed that the two countries have signed a declaration rather than a treaty in order to avoid a veto by Gligorov. It is quite probable for a debate to arise in the Macedonian parliament as to whether the president is entitled to veto declarations.

The newly signed Declaration may be described as a significant diplomatic breakthrough for both sides and above all as a serious Bulgarian success. Therefore, Marin Raikov, Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the Bulgarian delegation in the talks, had a good reason to declare that "we have achieved more than we have expected".

There is no doubt that the compromise achieved will give a strong impetus to the development of the bilateral relations in all spheres, mainly in trade and economic relations, and this fact is not being concealed at all by the two parties, but made public instead. However, overexpectations associated with the representation of this development as a panacea, are far-fetched. Both countries are so poor and in such a miserable economic state that whatever the progress of bilateral ties may be it could hardly help them out of this plight. It is more likely that the interest and trust of foreign /mostly U.S./ investors will grow, the favourable impact of which will be felt in both countries. This will affect first of all the realization of the Corridor No 8 project, which will be accompanied by substantial investments and the creation of new jobs.

The Declaration has received great approval by U.S. Ambassador in Sofia Avis Bohlen, who has also been backed by the official position of the United States. The attitude of the German ambassador to the Declaration has been similar - he referred to it as "something very, very nice". There followed a statement by the very influential U.S Under Secretary of State Strobe Talbott on the Bulgarian TV that he personally, together with Avis Bohlen and Christopher Hill, had taken part in the negotiations. Most likely, neither American nor German diplomats have been personally involved in the talks, but they have actively supported both sides by helping them reach the formula of compromise. After all, nothing has ever taken place on the Balkans without the involvement of the Great Powers. In the case of the Declaration it may be affirmed that it has been to the benefit of both Bulgaria and Macedonia, given the fateful events taking place in Yugoslavia.

An important point in the statements made by the American and German ambassadors in Sofia is that by this Declaration the two countries have made a significant step towards their integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures, which is one of the major goals of Bulgaria, as well as of Macedonia.
There is considerable opposition to the Declaration not only in Macedonia, however. In Bulgaria it has been supported by all the parties in the parliament. BSP leader Parvanov has backed it openly with only some reservations related with the legalization of the OMO "Ilinden" which will obstruct the development of bilateral relations.

At the same time, a growing negative reaction is seen in certain intellectual circles in Sofia provoked chiefly by the recognition of the Macedonian language. At this point their response is manifested mainly in the ironic description of the Macedonian language as a Bulgarian dialect.

It may be concluded that, at the present stage, neither Bulgaria, nor Macedonia agree to the formula of "two independent and sovereign states with a common cultural and spiritual expanse". The compromise achieved delineates essentially the opportunity of rapidly creating a common economic zone, and meanwhile the cultural and spiritual rapprochement is expected to take place. This conception is more realistic, because the two countries are likely to become united only within the framework of united Europe.