Bulgaria asks Macedonia for leadership to unblock EU membership

BRUSSELS, June 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Acting Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov, on Friday demanded leadership from the Macedonian Prime Minister, Dimitar Kovacevski, to accept the French proposal and thus resolve the blockade to accession to the European Union, after the Bulgarian Parliament voted to favor of withdrawing the veto to the opening of the negotiations.

The French Presidency of the EU has put on the table a proposal to unblock the situation in exchange for Skopje considering constitutional changes that recognize the Bulgarian community in the country and hopes to close an agreement before the end of June. In this way, the formal opening of negotiations with Albania and Macedonia could be announced in a matter of days, more than two years after the Twenty-seven gave the green light.

“It is time for the Government of North Macedonia to show leadership. It is up to them now to say if they want to be part of the European Union and they are ready to take the steps to make that a reality,” the Bulgarian leader told the departure from the meeting of EU Heads of State and Government in Brussels.

European diplomacy is also working hard to ensure that this proposal comes to fruition, Petkov has indicated, while European sources point out to Europa Press that unblocking “is not easy” but there is “a potential path” to clear the situation next week. comes.

“I think that this proposal is, in fact, very good for North Macedonia. It paves its way to the EU and ensures the protection of all the rights of communities in the country,” Petkov stressed in statements to the press.

Bulgaria has attracted attention at the European summit for its veto of the neighboring country’s European path and although everything indicated that it would offer a specific position on the negotiation, Petkov finally left the first step to lift the veto in Parliament’s hands, something that It finally happened this Friday.

The president of France and current president of the EU, Emmanuel Macron, has considered the decision of the Bulgarian Parliament a “very good sign”, although he has warned that there is still work to be done.

“We must not sing victory too soon, but it is an important advance”, he reasoned and explained that “in the next few hours” they will continue to work at a technical level with all the parties to “formalize” an agreement in the “next few days” that will allow unblock the process with North Macedonia and Albania.