Bulgaria has made a statement on the adoption of the conclusions of the last meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union on the enlargement process, learned the Skopje electronic edition "360 degrees" from diplomatic sources, which was confirmed by government sources. In a statement similar to that annexed to the March 2020 Council conclusions, Bulgaria outlined the conditions under which it would agree to the adoption of the negotiating framework for Macedonia, which is a precondition for scheduling the first intergovernmental conference.
The statement came a day after the election of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's new government, which announced a "constructive upgrade" of its position on northern Macedonia, so it is unclear whether the document was drafted by the previous caretaker government or the new executive's views. in Sofia, commented "360 degrees".
The statement accused Macedonia of seriously blocking most of the provisions of the Neighborhood Agreement and of discriminating against and threatening people with Bulgarian identity.
By the way, Bulgaria explains that the part of the conclusions of the General Affairs Council, which states that "the first intergovernmental conference with the Republic of Macedonia is eagerly awaited as soon as possible after the adoption of the negotiating framework", does not mean that the approval of the negotiating framework will automatically lead to the holding of the first intergovernmental conference.
In addition, the document presented to the Council's conclusions sets out the conditions under which Bulgaria will agree to the adoption of the negotiating framework for Macedonia. Among other things, it is insisted on the inclusion of the so-called conditions for opening to the first cluster (in the form of a road map), as well as the so-called intermediate and final indicators for monitoring the implementation of the roadmap.
The statement reiterated the position on naming the Macedonian language, insisting on the use of the formula from the bilateral documents - "Macedonian language, according to the constitution of the Macedonia".
Among the issues identified as a condition for Bulgaria to agree to the adoption of the negotiating framework is the sending of a note to the UN explaining that the short name Macedonia refers to the political entity Republic of Macedonia (and not to the wider geographical area). region), as well as tangible results from the implementation of the Neighborhood Agreement.
For Albania, the statement said, Bulgaria is ready to agree on a framework for negotiations and hold its first intergovernmental conference.
Bulgaria's unilateral statement on the EU Council's conclusions comes at a time when the new government and, above all, the new Prime Minister Kiril Petkov are talking about a different tone in Sofia's attitude towards Skopje, forming working groups to discuss infrastructure, economy and culture.
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