President Rumen Radev and European Commissioner Oliver Vahelyi discussed prospects for the EU enlargement process

Bulgaria’s President, Rumen Radev and European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Oliver Varhelyi on April 8 discussed the prospects for the enlargement process, both in the Western Balkans and Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Noting the differences in the geopolitical context in which the individual candidate countries find themselves, the two emphasised that each country's EU accession is based on its own merits and the fulfilment of clear and unambiguous criteria and conditions that are well known to all countries, the presidential administration said.

President Rumen Radev expressed expectation that after the end of the election campaign in the Republic of North Macedonia and the holding of the elections there, the political situation in our south-western neighbour will enable the full implementation of the European decision from July 2022, which is an unavoidable element on Skopje's path to the EU. Statements of a provocative nature by leading political figures in the RNM, made during the campaign, do not help to strengthen the dialogue between our two countries, said the Bulgarian head of state.

President Radev and Commissioner Varhelyi also discussed the debated options for future EU reform, including changes to decision-making mechanisms in the Council of the EU.

The Bulgarian head of state stated that on the topic of enlargement, our country categorically supports the preservation of the principle of unanimity.