Kovachev urges urgent reform of Bulgarian citizenship law

European People’s Party representative Andrey Kovachev has urged Bulgarian lawmakers to expedite modifications to citizenship legislation that would establish a public registry disclosing limited personal details of naturalized citizens who claim ethnic Bulgarian heritage. The member of the European Parliament emphasized on Monday during remarks to reporters in Brussels that current statutes fail to document the Bulgarian population in North Macedonia effectively, with approximately 170,000 to 180,000 individuals having obtained citizenship documents through ancestral documentation.

The proposed amendments would require the Justice Ministry to maintain accessible records showing names and residential locations of applicants who submitted historical evidence of Bulgarian family connections through exarchate membership, military service, or educational institution attendance. Kovachev stated the registry would verify community size among those who voluntarily declared Bulgarian ethnic identity when requesting citizenship, with an additional 15,000 to 20,000 applications currently under review.

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