Bulgaria Says No Time to Schedule Negotiations between EU and Skopje

Now is not the time to call for the government’s first intergovernmental session for North Macedonia to start accession talks between North Macedonia and the EU, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Krasimir Karakachanov has said as quoted by EURACTIV.rs.
Although North Macedonia would be doing everything it can “to implement an agreement on neighbourly relations with Bulgaria, “it is all just an imitation,” he added.
According to Karakachanov, no one wants to introduce new criteria for North Macedonia.
One of the EU’s condition is that every candidate state must first clear up its problems with its neighbours before the talks could start.
“Bulgaria is not changing anything in its policy. In October last year, we said very clearly that, unless the Agreement on Friendship was signed on 2 August 2017 is honoured, we will oppose scheduling the first intergovernmental conference,” Karakachanov has said.