site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva Reviews Bulgaria-Macedonia Treaty

Sofia, July 8 (BTA) - In a statement on Saturday GERB responded to a call by socialist leader Kornelia Ninova on the Prime Minister that the Bulgaria-Macedonia Good-Neighbourlines Treaty should be debated by Parliament and a common position be put forward.

GERB say that Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva has initiated a review of the treaty by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. The agreement was submitted to Parliament on July 3 and members of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee were able to get acquainted with the draft ahead of a July 5 meeting.

In addition the draft agreement is accessible to all MPs in the classified records offices in Parliament.

According to the statement, the agreement is in the final stretch after negotiations began in 2008 and now the twelfth round is expected to finalize the draft with which the parliamentary foreign affairs committee will be acquainted.

Once the treaty is signed, it will have to be ratified by the legislatures of Macedonia and Bulgaria and will be up for discussion in Parliament.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is quoted as saying by the government information service that a stable, united and independent Macedonia is in BulgariaТs interest, with clear Euro-Atlantic prospects which depends on forging closer ties between the two countries and doing away with the anti-Bulgarian rhetoric of recent decades.

Borissov recalls that Foreign Minister Zaharieva on her own initiative acquainted with the draft former foreign minister and chair of the parliamentary EU affairs committee Kristian Vigenin and BSPТs International Secretary Deniza Slateva.

The Prime Minister says that under the Constitution, Parliament should be acquainted with the agreement once it is submitted for ratification. In this respect the July 5 discussion by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee is УunprecedentedФ.

The Prime Minister recalls that negotiations began in 2008. УThroughout these years, irrespective of the political affiliation of the governments, Bulgaria has consistently stood by the same positions defending the national interest,Ф says Borissov. He adds that with the agreement the countries will build on bilateral relations and reaffirm their political commitments in an international legal document.