Iliana Iotova held a meeting with Bulgarian members of the European Parliament.
Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova called for “active defense at all levels of Bulgaria’s position on North Macedonia,” a BGNES reporter said.
She held a meeting with Bulgarian members of the European Parliament, who told her they “do not feel the necessary support from the state in defending Bulgaria’s national position and also note passivity on the part of some institutions.”
The meeting in Sofia focused on preparations for the European Parliament’s vote in June on the annual report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia on its path toward the European Union, drafted by Thomas Waitz. The talks also covered attempts by North Macedonia to alter elements of the adopted negotiating framework that run counter to the European consensus reached in 2022. Another topic was the risk of changing the voting procedure for admitting a new member state to the European Union, from unanimity to a qualified majority.
BGNES recalls that in 2022 the so-called European compromise was reached, creating a framework for Skopje’s European integration. Bulgaria made significant concessions and, with clear political will and broad consensus, once again backed the country in the region with which it shares the closest historical ties. At the beginning of March, North Macedonia rapporteur Thomas Waitz submitted an amendment to his latest report that casts doubt on the second protocol to the Treaty with Bulgaria, which is part of the EU negotiating framework. In Amendment 108, Waitz, on behalf of the Greens group, proposes that the future resolution state that the European Parliament “calls on the Council’s Legal Service urgently to clarify all ambiguities regarding the legal status of the second bilateral protocol to the Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendship between the two countries in relation to the accession process.”
Participants in today’s meeting were adamant that “Bulgaria, with the confidence of a full member of the European Union, must uphold its strong position and insist that Skopje implement the 2022 French proposal, which also became the common European position on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU. To open 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, chief among them the protection of human rights,” the presidential institution said.
President Iotova and the MEPs stressed “the need for Bulgaria to step up its international activity in defending its position.” | BGNES