site.btaMEP Kovatchev: Skopje Should Refrain from Trying to Alter EU Membership Negotiating Framework

Andrey Kovatchev MEP of the European People's Party / GERB-UDF said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio here on Sunday that the Republic of North Macedonia, being a candidate member of the European Union (EU), is expected to respect the negotiating framework that its Parliament adopted. Kovatchev advised against Skopje using diplomatic manoeuvres in Paris, Berlin or Washington, D.C. to try and alter the framework.

The MEP said that officials in North Macedonia are trying to portray Bulgaria as a country that does not recognize the identity or language of North Macedonia. He stated that this is not true and added: "Bulgaria has always had the best intentions towards the Republic of North Macedonia. We were the first [country] to recognize them," referring to Bulgaria being the first state to recognize Macedonia as an independent state in January 1992.

Kovatchev was adamant that the Republic of North Macedonia should adopt the amendments to their Constitution, specifically the one that recognizes Bulgarians as an ethnic minority in their country. He added that North Macedonia should also implement the treaties they have already signed with Bulgaria. He expressed hope that the Bulgarian National Assembly will find time to amend the Bulgarian Citizenship Act to introduce a citizenship award ceremony and a public register of the people who have received Bulgarian citizenship, as well as to have the possibility of revoking it when there are clear signals of hate speech against Bulgaria.

The MEP said that the implementation of the Prespa Agreement (the one which resolved the long-standing dispute between Skopje and Athens over the name of North Macedonia) and the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation (signed in 2017 by then prime ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Boyko Borissov and Zoran Zaev respectively) is part of the negotiating framework under which the European Commission is obliged to assess North Macedonia's progress on its path towards European integration.