Bulgaria reaffirms its position on the European perspective of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and is open to a constructive dialogue with the forthcoming Slovenian Presidency to find mutually acceptable solutions
22 June 2021 News
Bulgaria reaffirmed its position on the European perspective of the Republic of Northern Macedonia during today's regular meeting of the General Affairs Council (GCC) in Luxembourg, while being open to a constructive dialogue with the forthcoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU on finding mutually acceptable solutions.
Our country was represented at the meeting of the Council of Ministers by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rumen Alexandrov. The current state of the EU enlargement process was discussed.
Deputy Minister Alexandrov confirmed that the Framework Position of the Council of Ministers of 9 October 2019 on the European perspective of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, supported by a Declaration of the National Assembly of 10 October 2019, remains valid.
"Bulgaria continues the exploratory consultations with Skopje in implementation of the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness. We are approaching constructively and in good faith, but we expect Republic of Northern Macedonia to start implementing in practice the commitments made at a high level on June 17, 2021 in Sofia, which will allow us to move in a positive direction", said Rumen Alexandrov.
"This includes the explicit renunciation of Republic of Northern Macedonia of territorial, minority and historical claims to Bulgaria, the change of inscriptions / monuments inciting hatred towards Bulgaria in Republic of Northern Macedonia, the the activation of a process of rehabilitation of the victims of the Yugoslav communism who have been repressed because of their Bulgarian self-determination. Regardless of our bilateral dialogue with the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria insists that the implementation of the Good Neighbourhood Agreement by the Republic of Northern Macedonia be included among the conditions in the future Negotiating Framework for Skopje's accession to the EU", said Deputy Minister Alexandrov.
Bulgaria praised Albania's achievements in the reform process and reaffirmed its support for adopting the country's negotiating framework.
The European Ministers also prepared the regular meeting of the European Council on 24-25 June 2021, at which the following topics will be discussed: COVID-19, economic recovery, migration and external relations. The Council discussed the European Commission's Communication on the lessons from the sanitary crisis and the need for synergies between the Member States.
"Bulgaria is among the first countries to introduce the digital COVID-19 certificate, which will allow a gradual return to free movement in the EU after July 1, 2021", said Deputy Minister Alexandrov in the debate on the topic. Member States also welcomed the timely entry into force of the Own Resources Decision as an important step towards the Union's economic recovery.
The General Affairs Council was informed by the European Commission about the EU's relations with the Swiss Confederation, as well as about the current state of the procedures under Article 7 of the EU Treaty on the Rule of Law in Poland and Hungary.
After the end of the meeting of the General Affairs Council, the Bulgarian delegation led by Deputy Minister Rumen Alexandrov took part in the intergovernmental conferences with Republic of Serbia and Republic of Montenegro.