As was expected, Bulgaria used its veto against North Macedonia again during the EU Summit taking place in Luxembourg.
Bulgaria isn’t giving up on its demands and doesn’t wish to treat them as an issue separate to the discussions of North Macedonia’s integration.
The Bulgarian Minister of Foreign affairs stated that she is expecting from North Macedonia, to comply with the Good Neighbor Agreement and to fulfill the promises made last week, during the meeting between the prime ministers of both countries in Sofia.
“Bulgaria is continuing the research consultations with Skopje in respect to the Good Neighbor Agreement. We are approaching in a constructive manner and good will, but we are expecting from the Republic of North Macedonia to start executing the commitments assumed at a high level on June 17th 2021 in Sofia, which would allow us to move forward in a positive direction,” emphasized the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva.
In the meantime, the Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani stated that the country isn’t left with any other alternatives and will work with Bulgaria in order to find a solution.
“Citizens are waiting for something concrete, they are expecting concrete results in regards to their membership to the EU. We don’t have any other alternatives. We are located at the heart of Europe and we have nowhere else to go. Europe without the Western Balkans isn’t complete. We are glad that the 26 member states have reached a consensus regarding this and we are working with Bulgaria as well, so we can come to a solution,” he said.
This is the second time that Bulgaria uses the veto to block the progression of North Macedonia toward the EU.
Sofia has raised concrete claims that contest the Macedonian history and language. Because of the recent elections in Bulgaria, which didn’t produce a political government, Skopje had a hard time negotiating with a temporary and technical Bulgarian government.
At this point, the date for the next parliamentary elections is set to be July 11th and North Macedonia hopes that the new Bulgarian government can come to an agreement before the upcoming Summit of the EU in October 2021.
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