Skopje, 28 July 2022 (MIA) – Dragi Gjorgiev, co-chair of the Macedonian-Bulgarian joint commission on historical and educational issues, says he does not feel pressure from the bilateral protocol signed with Bulgaria, saying deadlines are set by politicians, whereas the commission has its own routine, rules and principles. “The protocol has no major significance for the commission because this body has operated in an optimal way, the way members considered it should. The protocol is a political document between two governments through which they want to improve bilateral relations. One segment of those relations is our commission, which has been operational for four years already,” Gjorgiev told Telma TV. According to him, the Commission has its own routine and their job is to work while abiding by the already established academic principles and mutual respect, but the “stakes now are higher and the circumstances are different”. “The protocol has polarized the Macedonian society and all of this makes the position of the Commission quite different, more sensitive, under the public lens,” notes Gjorgiev. He says politicians will always set deadlines but the commission has its own routine and modus operandi. Politicians use one logic, we the scientists another. We are responsible before the public but our primary focus is the academic integrity and not what is imposed by politics,” says Gjorgjiev.