Bulgaria will not yet lift its veto on Northern Macedonia joining the EU

Bulgaria has set conditions for lifting its veto by blocking northern Macedonia’s accession talks with the European Union and is working to see if Brussels can guarantee that those conditions are met, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petko said today.

Speaking after a meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varelli, Petkov, whose government lost a majority in parliament on Wednesday, dismissed accusations by a former ruling coalition ally that he was ready to lift Bulgaria’s veto. national interests.

“Bulgaria has three clear conditions if we want to see progress on the issue of Northern Macedonia,” Petkov told reporters. “We are working together to see if the EU can be a guarantor of compliance with these conditions,” he added.

Sofia is pressuring its neighboring country to adopt constitutional guarantees that protect the rights of Bulgarians living in northern Macedonia, as well as to make progress on some historical differences.

Bulgaria refused in 2020 to approve the negotiating framework for Northern Macedonia to join the EU due to disagreements over history and language.

Vareli, on his fourth visit to Bulgaria in six months, expressed disappointment that there is still no solution to the stalemate over Northern Macedonia’s accession plans.

Bulgaria’s EU, NATO allies push for agreement on boosting Skopje’s European perspective at next EU summit later this month, helping to limit Russian influence in Western Balkans amid war in Ukraine . “The fact that I keep coming back means that there is no solution yet, which is very disappointing,” he said.

Source: Capital

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