The French proposal regarding Bulgaria’s veto for the start North Macedonia’s EU accession talks was sent to the Foreign Policy Committee

The French EU Council presidency's proposal for a decision for lifting Bulgaria's veto on the start of North Macedonia's EU membership negotiations has been sent to the Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament, MPs and members of the committee confirmed for BNT on June 17. The document was submitted to the MPs because the government decided that the Foreign Policy Committee and the Parliament should consider any proposals related to the veto.

According to BNR, which has the document, it says that the accession negotiations envisage special attention to be paid to the protection and non-discriminatory treatment of citizens from minority groups and communities in North Macedonia. To ensure this, progress on this issue will be closely monitored by the Commitee, which will prepare reports for the Council.

It is highlighted that the EU notes the intentions of Bulgaria and North Macedonia to make a unilateral declaration on the Macedonian language. Alongside the requirements for the implementation of important reforms and legal changes for North Macedonia's accession to the EU - such as judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organised crime - the fight against hate speech and discrimination is also raised.

The negotiating framework includes the requirement to achieve specific results and implementation in good faith of bilateral agreements, including the 2017 Good Neighbourly Relations Agreement with Bulgaria and the May 2018 Sofia Declaration.

Republic of North Macedonia will have to adopt, through an inclusive process, an Action Plan dedicated to the protection of minority rights, in the areas of non-discrimination, combating hate speech, education, establishing effective measures, reporting mechanisms and identifying responsible institutions. The implementation of this Roadmap and Action Plan will be continuously monitored and regularly discussed at the Intergovernmental Conferences during the (accession) process.

MPs from the ruling coalition told BNT unofficially that a meeting of the parliamentary foreign policy committee will most likely be scheduled for Monday to discuss the document.

According to them, however, in the current political situation there is a risk that no attention will be paid to the fact that it would be a success for Bulgaria if Skopje agrees to accept the Bulgarian conditions and the EU becomes a guarantor for their implementation. It was possible that Bulgaria would not receive such a good offer in the future.

At its latest meeting on Wednesday, the government adopted a decision that all proposals concerning North Macedonia, other than the current Bulgarian position, should be approved by the Bulgarian Parliament.

Meanwhile, Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi, said that at the moment there is a complete blockade in Sofia on the issue of the start of the negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, and the domestic politics in Sofia is affecting the European Union.

Olivér Várhelyi also told journalists that he spent every second Tuesday of the month in Bulgaria, but his efforts were in vain. He hopes negotiations with both countries will start immediately.

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