Sofia, Bulgaria: The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov, has welcomed the decision of the Bulgarian Parliament to give the nod to the proposal set up by France for the EU accession of North Macedonia. He then highlights that the integration of the Western Balkans is the prime priority and strategy of the entire European region.
The proposal contains removing the ‘veto power’ of Bulgaria on North Macedonia for entering into talks so as to join the European Union. Yesterday, the Balkan state’s National Assembly accepted the proposal placed by the Democratic coalition of Bulgaria, briefing the conditions to give the go-ahead.
The Prime Minister is in Brussels and attended the EUCO meet, where he appreciated the efforts of every single individual in achieving this.
PM Petkov asserted, “I begin with the Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska, who spoke clearly, despite pressure from the (ITN) party that nominated her to say something else – she stated clearly that this is the best solution for Bulgaria. I thank her for the courage she showed despite Slavi Trifonov’s Facebook posts. I would also like to thank the MPs who gathered the required support for such a responsible decision”.
Meanwhile, the opposition party’s MP (GERB), as well as the former foreign minister Ekaterina Zaharieva have also greeted the decision.
Zaharieva cited in a Twitter post, “Today is a good day for Europe, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Parliament approved the framework of the negotiations with (North Macedonia). I call on the Prime Minister to execute our decision immediately. Now Mr Kiril Petkov has no one to blame”.
Although, the Bulgarian Socialist Party is not in favour of the proposal.
The official statement issued by BSP asserts, “There is not a single vote in favour from the BSP for Bulgaria parliamentary group. All the allegations stating that we have betrayed the national interest are lies. We will not permit anyone to clear their guilty conscience of unprincipled agreements with lies and manipulations about the BSP”.