site.btaForeign Minister, MPs Comment on Postponed Vote on Report on North Macedonia's Progress Towards EU Accession

On Thursday, Bulgarian politicians continued commenting on a decision of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee to put off the vote on the report on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia towards EU accession.

Austrian rapporteur Thomas Waitz proposed the postponement after all Bulgarian MEPs sent a letter expressing doubts about the report and reporting irregularities, including leaks of inside parliamentary information and controversial amendments, to officials in Skopje. The vote in the parliamentary Committee is scheduled to take place on June 24 and in the European Parliament in July.

The MEPs' letter cited North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski's statement of June 1 that he had been familiar with the report in advance.

Following is a takeaway from the politicians' comments in Sofia on Thursday:

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev: EU membership is not a given, but is based on clear criteria and conditions that every candidate country must meet. Referring to a National Assembly resolution of May 30 on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia in the process of EU accession, Georgiev said that an important component of the resolution is that there are no and cannot be any additional conditions or requirements for the Republic of North Macedonia during its progress towards EU accession. "This is a clear and sufficient message of our consistency, which reaffirms the messages we have always sent, and through it we respond, at the highest state level in Bulgaria, to the so-called concerns of our partners and friends across the western border, who have repeatedly voiced fears that if they amend their constitution, Bulgaria might impose additional conditions. This has not been, is not, and will not be the case," he said.

Three MPs of the government coalition - Stanislav Balabanov of There Is Such a People, Toma Bikov of GERB-UDF and Gabriel Valkov of BSP-United Left - gave a joint news conference with Georg Georgiev in Parliament. 

Stanislav Balabanov said the rapporteur, Thomas Waitz, will have to reconsider thanks to the Bulgarian Parliament. "Let him draw his own conclusions, along with the people who thought they could exert influence. We will see the outcome very soon." He added: "The resolution voted by the Bulgarian Parliament is the basis for stating very clearly that we will defend to the very end the Bulgarian national interest regarding the issue of the Republic of North Macedonia, and we will not budge on this point."

Toma Bikov said: "We expect and wish that the  Republic of North Macedonia will begin negotiations with the EU, but only after we see that the anti-Bulgarian forces, which are also anti-European, are put in a position not to lead the state. We hope that this will happen sooner rather than later. The inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution is important, not because it will solve all problems, but because it will mark the beginning of a process in which Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia will be good neighbors with good relations, and people on both sides of the border will be able to live in harmony and together."

Gabriel Valkov stressed that the Bulgarian Socialist Party's MEPs, together with the Party of European Socialists, had fought for the postponement of the vote on the document. "I congratulate the Bulgarian MEPs from all parties for taking the initiative together and making this effort together. Just as the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on May 30, the MEPs unanimously stood on a national position that defends the Bulgarian national interest, for which I thank them."

In a separate statement, Vazrazhdane MP Angel Georgiev said the report on North Macedonia was biased and unacceptable. "We demand an investigation. Let everybody be aware that this report, in this form, is a report of lobbying by the Republic of North Macedonia." He added: "We do not want to have this report postponed, but to have no report at all this year. For the time being, the report has been postponed by 20 days, thanks to all the actions we have taken."

For his part, Thomas Waitz said on Wednesday: "There was quite intensive political debate around this report. I must say that I absolutely stand behind my report. All groups have been involved into the negotiations. All groups have participated in forming these compromises. This is a report of the EP and the European Union to the state of accession when it comes to the country of North Macedonia. This report is not there to solve bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. But the treatment of minorities is a European issue."