site.btaVP Iotova: North Macedonia’s Dialogue with Bulgaria Lately Is Unproductive and Frivolous

Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists on Friday that the manner in which the Republic of North Macedonia conducts dialogue with Bulgaria has lately been unproductive and frivolous, to say the least. Iotova said this in response to a question related to a statement by North Macedonia's President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, according to which no article in the Friendship and Good Neighbourliness Treaty with Bulgaria says that the country's Constitution should be changed.

“I do not want to believe that our neighbours are changing their course on actual EU membership. I recommend carefully reading the documents of the Union, the decisions of the Council,” said Iotova. In the resolutions that the European Parliament adopted, the importance of the Treaty is clearly mentioned, as well as that of the Prespa Agreement, she pointed out. The Vice President commented that these agreements are only one element of the negotiation process that lies ahead for North Macedonia.

Iotova recommend that the procedure be looked at including what the necessary conditions for an intergovernmental conference are, what the European Commission will monitor, etc. “They have a lot of work to do,” she said.