President Iliana Yotova called for “active advocacy at all levels of the Bulgarian position on North Macedonia“, BGNES reported.
She held a meeting with Bulgarian MEPs, at which they complained to her that “they do not feel the necessary support of the state in defending the Bulgarian national position and also take into account the passivity on the part of some institutions.“
The occasion for the "Dondukov" 2 meeting is the preparation and the upcoming vote in June in the European Parliament on the annual progress report on the Republic of North Macedonia's path to the European Union, prepared by Thomas Weitz. The conversation discussed North Macedonia's attempts to replace elements in the adopted negotiating framework that contradict the European consensus of 2022. The danger of changing the voting method when admitting a new country to the European Union with a qualified, rather than a full majority, was also discussed.
The participants in today's meeting are categorical that “Bulgaria, with the self-confidence of a full member of the European Union, must defend its strong position and insist on Skopje's implementation of the French proposal of 2022, which has also become a pan-European position for the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU. In order to start negotiations, North Macedonia must fulfill its commitments by including Bulgarians in its Constitution. Bulgaria and North Macedonia do not have a bilateral problem, our western neighbor must meet the European criteria for membership, the main one of which is the protection of human rights“, the presidential institution announced.
The meeting also recalled the case of last year's European Parliament report on the progress of North Macedonia. President Yotova and the MEPs highlighted “the need for Bulgaria to strengthen its international activity to defend its position.“