Sofia, Bulgaria: President of the Balkan state, Rumen Radev, during his visit to Latvia, stated that the proposals of the French Presidency for North Macedonia are the best and fairest. The remark was made by the Bulgarian President on June 20, 2022, during an interaction with the media.
He stated, “The proposals of the French Presidency are the best so far; I’m not just talking about Bulgaria – they are the fairest. Let it be clear: we really have progressed for a change in the constitution of North Macedonia and the entry of Bulgarians into the document, which I have been insisting on for a long time. It is already accepted for this to happen”.
Meanwhile, giving reply to being asked what did France offers us to let Macedonia join the EU, the President cited, “For almost a year now, we have been persistently battling – both as Bulgaria’s representative in the EU and the two caretaker governments – to raise bilateral issues to EU level and a negotiating framework. This is not just a bilateral historical dispute between Bulgaria and North Macedonia as it appears. These are issues which are undermining the EU’s foundations. Finally, after much debate, our European partners have learned that this is the place to address these issues, and our demands are already being addressed in the negotiating framework as an approach”.
Following the above statement, he then added that if there are plans to change the framework position of Bulgaria, then the Council of Ministers must update the framework position, which shall later be approved by the Parliament of the country.
The initial demand or condition is to alter the Macedonian constitution by adding and Bulgarians, afterwards which Skopje’s negotiations with the EU should be started.
He then stated that it should be made sure that the bilateral protocol to be signed between Bulgaria and North Macedonia must defend the interest of the European country.