VP Iotova: Bulgaria Has No Additional Conditions for Skopje's EU Path

UPDATED VP Iotova: Bulgaria Has No Additional Conditions for Skopje's EU Path

Vice President Iliana Iotova at the EU Meets the Balkans forum, Sofia, April 17, 2025 (BTA Photo/Hristo Kasabov)

Sofia,

17.04.2025 11:35 | UPDATED 17.04.2025 12:02

(BTA)

Bulgaria is not placing any additional conditions on the process or negotiations of the Republic of North Macedonia on its path toward the EU, Vice President Iliana Iotova said here Thursday. She was speaking at the EU Meets the Balkans forum in Sofia.

The event is organized by the European Liberal Forum, the ALDE Party, and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. Among the attendees are Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, representatives from Turkiye, Romania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro. Bulgarian MPs and policy experts are also present.

Iotova emphasized that bilateral relations between the two countries are not the reason for Skopje’s EU accession talks not moving forward. She noted that this argument is often brought forward by "our colleagues from the Republic of North Macedonia as well as by some European politicians and experts, who suggest that the process is being blocked by both sides".

“What Bulgaria is asking for is compliance with the European criteria - the same ones that every country on the path to full EU membership has had to meet, often at the cost of difficult decisions and tough compromises,” the Vice President added.

"We continue to believe that the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia are not protected," she said, noting that the framework agreed upon in 2022 within the EU, based on the French proposal, does not contain Bulgarian claims but European criteria for membership, the main one being the protection of human rights. Iotova added that the framework is a European document that must be respected and implemented, and it cannot be altered, rewritten, abandoned, or left on the back burner.

The Vice President expressed the view that halting or freezing the EU enlargement process would bring even more instability, conflicts, and influence from hostile forces. She commented that a clear answer is needed to the question of whether we want the countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova to have a close and realistic European perspective.

According to Iotova, the discussion on enlargement should not be removed from the agenda of European institutions, and she believes that at the moment it is not one of the top priorities of the European Commission and the European Parliament. She also added that the enlargement process must be transparent, and emphasized that each country should adhere to the rules during the negotiation process.

The Vice President raised the issue of whether enlargement matters should be decided by qualified majority voting among member states. She noted that EU countries are grouping together to change European legislation and the decision-making process. "There are a few topics I cannot agree with, and one of them is the topic of enlargement," said the Vice President.

In her words, the ultimate goal of enlargement should be a strong EU, a global leader alongside others, working in the interest and for the future of its citizens. Without the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, there can be no talk of stability and security within the Union and the continent, she pointed out.

The Vice President further stated that candidate countries for EU membership can make the Union stronger. "The potential in agriculture and food, natural resources, and human capital will enhance the strategic advantages of the EU, making it even more competitive and capable of defending its interests and sovereignty," she said.

/NF/