Bulgaria’s caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Yanev has complained to the Slovenian ambassador that “our European partners are taking sides, tolerating North Macedonia and blaming Bulgaria, without real and well-founded reasons.”
Yanev made the comment at a meeting with ambassador Andrzej Franges on Tuesday to discuss topics on the European agenda in the context of the priorities of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU that began on 1 July, reporteed Euractiv on Wednesday.
The topic of EU enlargement and the European Horizon of North Macedonia were among the issues discussed. Yanev reaffirmed Bulgaria’s position and principled support for the European perspective of North Macedonia and Albania, highlighting the need for more effective dialogue and real will to resolve the differences between Sofia and Skopje, stated the government’s press service.
The PM emphasied that Sofia requires real actions regarding the protection of human rights and the elimination of hate speech.
Bulgaria vetoed the decision to start EU membership talks with North Macedonia in November 2020. This affected Albania, the other candidate for membership in the Western Balkans, which is making progress on its path to the EU in a package with Skopje. The Bulgarian veto came as a surprise to many because the country has been a strong advocate of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans. / Argumentum.al
