site.btaBulgaria Confirms to EU Council that National Assembly Resolution on Republic of North Macedonia Is in Effect

Luxembourg/Brussels, June 22 (BTA) - At a meeting of the EU
General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime
Minister Rumen Alexandrov confirmed that the support for the
European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia,
expressed by the Bulgarian National Assembly in 2019, remains in
 effect, Bulgaria's Permanent Representation to the EU in
Brussels said on Tuesday.

"Bulgaria continues the exploratory consultations with Skopje in
 implementation of the [2017] Treaty of Friendship and
Goodneighbourliness," Alexandrov said. "We are taking a
constructive and well-intentioned approach, but we expect the
Republic of North Macedonia to proceed with the practical
implementation of the high-level commitments assumed in Sofia on
 June 17, 2021, which will enable us to move in a positive
direction." He was apparently referring to proposals made by
North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev during his visit to
the Bulgarian capital. Details about the proposals have not been
 made public.

"These commitments include an explicit renunciation by the
Republic of North Macedonia of any territorial, minority and
historical claims to Bulgaria, the change of inscriptions and
monuments instilling hatred of Bulgaria in the Republic of North
 Macedonia, and initiating a process of rehabilitation of the
victims of Yugoslav communism who were repressed because they
identified themselves as Bulgarians. Without prejudice to our
bilateral dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia,
Bulgaria insists that the application of the Goodneighbourliness
 Treaty by Skopje be included among the conditions of the future
 negotiating framework on that country's accession to the EU,"
the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

"Bulgaria remains open to constructive dialogue with the
forthcoming Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European
Union for finding mutually acceptable solutions," the Foreign
Ministry in Sofia said.

"The participants in the Council meeting showed understanding
for the sensitivity of the Bulgarian side, for the arguments we
stress and for our considerations. In this sense, they agreed
that the Republic of North Macedonia must make efforts so that
we could reach a mutually acceptable solution," Alexandrov said,
 quoted by bTV.

"I absolutely refuse to show understanding for these crucial
decisions being overshadowed by bilateral conflicts that are not
 at the European level," German European Affairs Minister
Michael Roth said for his part, quoted by the same media outlet.
 "The [European] Commission and the [German] Federal Government
hold the position that Albania and North Macedonia have
fulfilled their part of the obligations, so that we can at long
last start the [accession] negotiations," he added.

According to the Permanent Representation's press release,
Bulgaria commended Albania's reform achievements and reiterated
its support for the adoption of the negotiating framework for
that country. The delegation headed by Alexandrov took part in
the intergovernmental conferences with Serbia and Montenegro.
RI/LG