The need for more active efforts from all Bulgarian institutions to uphold a unified national position on the European Union membership of the Republic of North Macedonia was emphasised by President Iliana Iotova and Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament.
The meeting at the presidency building on “Dondukov” 2 on April 3 was held in preparation for the upcoming vote in June in the European Parliament on the annual report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia on its path towards the European Union.
The Bulgarian MEPs repeatedly thanked the head of state for the meeting and her engagement with the issue. The representatives in the European Parliament are united and working in coordination on the matter, but note a lack of sufficient support from the state in defending Bulgaria’s national position, as well as a degree of passivity on the part of some institutions.
The participants in the meeting were unequivocal that Bulgaria, with the confidence of a full member of the European Union, should uphold its strong position and insist on the implementation by Skopje of the 2022 French proposal, which has also become the common European stance on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU.
In order for accession negotiations to begin, North Macedonia must fulfil its commitments, including by inserting the Bulgarian community in its Constitution. Bulgaria and North Macedonia do not have a bilateral dispute; Bulgaria’s western neighbour must meet the European criteria for membership, the foremost of which is the protection of human rights, emphasised President Iliana Iotova and the Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament.
The talks also addressed attempts by North Macedonia to alter elements of the adopted negotiating framework that are at odds with the European consensus of 2022. The discussion further covered the risk of changing the voting method for the accession of a new state to the European Union, from full majority to qualified majority voting.
The meeting also recalled last year’s European Parliament report on North Macedonia’s progress, as well as the actions of Bulgarian MEPs and the Bulgarian side, thanks to which formulations unacceptable to Bulgaria were not allowed to pass. At the time, the then President Rumen Radev sent a letter to the leaders of the European institutions and EU member states, in which he categorically stated that Bulgaria would not accept any replacement of the European compromise.
Photos by Presidency of the Republic of Bulgaria
President Iliana Iotova and the Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament emphasised the need for Bulgaria to strengthen its international engagement in order to uphold its position. The need to establish lectureships in Bulgarian language at foreign universities was also discussed. A Bulgarian National Cultural Institute, envisaged on the initiative of Iliana Iotova, would become a powerful instrument of cultural diplomacy.
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