Bulgaria has not vetoed North Macedonia’s EU accession talks

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva described as delicate the phase of the country’s relations with the Republic of North Macedonia.

She received the special envoy of Skopje Vlado Buckovski and after her meeting with him stressed that Bulgaria has not vetoed the negotiations for EU membership of our neighbours.

Buckovski acknowledged that trust between the two sides has been breached.

Former Prime Minister of North Macedonia Vlado Buckovski arrived in Sofia less than a week after the government in Skopje appointed him special representative in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister confirmed the county’s support for the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as the readiness to find a sustainable and lasting solution to the open issues in the relations between the two countries.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs: I want to emphasize that this is incorrectly called a "veto" because it is a disapproval of the negotiating framework. There is no doubt that, unfortunately, we are currently in a delicate stage of our relationship. We are both disappointed by this. And it is disappointing that the negotiating framework has not been approved at this time. As it is well known, our position is based on non-compliance with the 2017 Treaty.

Bulgaria is ready to continue talks with Skopje on controversial issues, Zaharieva said.

Skopje Special Envoy Vlado Buckovski described his talks with Zaharieva as constructive, open and friendly.

He said they had assured Minister Zaharieva and her team that the Republic of North Macedonia was determined to implement the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness. He admits that trust has been broken.

According to him, the two sides should now be proud of what they have achieved by working together, instead of arguing about the past.

Buckovski also said that neither he nor Ms.Zaharieva would change the common history, but they could change the work on infrastructure, common economic projects, stronger cooperation in education and science, stronger cooperation in culture, stronger cooperation in bringing the two peoples closer together.

Ekaterina Zaharieva reminded that the conditions in Bulgaria have been clear for 18 months and they have not changed. The Foreign Minister expressed her surprise at yesterday's position of the government in Skopje and recalled what Bulgaria insists on.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs: Implementation of the 2017 Agreement, Roadmap for its implementation as part of it. Suspension of claims for the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria and in terms of language - implementation from 2017.

The Foreign Ministry issued a position stating that at this stage the draft negotiating framework does not contain the guarantees that Bulgaria needs in order to give its support for its approval. Bulgaria will continue its constructive efforts during the next presidency of the Council of the EU.

It is also regrettable that in the past year, the Republic of North Macedonia has focused on a diplomatic and media campaign to discredit the positions of Bulgaria, and many times the public has been presented with false information regarding the Bulgarian position.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry also calls on the government of the Republic of North Macedonia to cease the manipulative thesis that Bulgaria is challenging the right to self-determination and identity of the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia or their right to call their language as they wish.

In front of Skopje's special envoy Vlado Buckovski, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Krassimir Karakachanov expressed bewilderment at the ongoing anti-Bulgarian rhetoric by a number of media and politicians in the Republic of North Macedonia.

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