Slovenian President Borut Pahor met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Thursday (July 8) to discuss Bulgaria’s veto of North Macedonia’s accession to the European Union.
Pahor’s office stated that the President is personally committed to seeking a compromise solution to pave the way for the negotiations for North Macedonia’s accession to the European Union.
Pahor and Radoff sought a compromise solution acceptable to all parties during their delegation meetings and their conversations.
The expansion of the EU to the Western Balkans is necessary and should happen as soon as possible. The two agreed during the talks in Sofia before the Three Seas Initiative summit.
Bulgarians will vote in early elections on Sunday, and any compromise must be approved by the next parliament. The previous parliament passed a statement by an absolute majority in October 2019, which contained strict conditions for the approval of North Macedonia’s accession to the EU.
Pahor discussed the matter with the President of North Macedonia Stivo Pendarowski during his visit to Ohrid last week.
The enlargement of the EU is one of the priorities of Slovenia’s EU presidency. During Portugal’s presidency in the first half of the year, it failed to reach an agreement with North Macedonia and Albania to initiate EU accession negotiations.
Since Bulgaria blocked the road from North Macedonia to the European Union, this process has been at a standstill. Sofia believes that Skopje has failed to implement the “Treaty of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation” signed in 2017 on issues such as common history.
Sofia also accused Skopje of often treating Bulgaria as a fascist country and calling Bulgarians “Tatars”. Albania has no veto power, but most member states believe that the accession negotiations between North Macedonia and Albania should not be decoupled.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
