A tragedy caused by internal reasons – this is how former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright defined the Bulgarian veto on the negotiations for the accession of Northern Macedonia to the EU. She commented on this during a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US Congress.

The question asked by the commission’s future chairman, Democrat Gregory Meeks, read: “Bulgaria is blocking Northern Macedonia over ethnic and language issues, following Greek name considerations. Bulgaria is questioning Macedonian identity and language. How can the Biden-Harris administration working with our allies in Brussels to ensure that the neighbors of the Western Balkan countries hoping to join the EU do not keep them in the waiting room? “

I have been working for so long on the name of what is now called “Northern Macedonia.” When I was at the UN, we called it FYROM, the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” and no one knew what we were talking about. it was worked very hard, “Albright replied. “In many ways, it is a tragedy that Bulgarians, for their own internal reasons, are doing this now. This question must be raised (before the US allies in Brussels, ed. Note) – how do they fulfill their obligations as a member state? that it is a very important issue that undermines our overall efforts in the Balkans – to achieve economic and political cooperation. “

In another part of his speech, Albright stressed the importance of the prospect of EU accession to the Western Balkans and that the Joe Biden administration understands how important this region is to US interests.

“Corruption remains a serious problem and nationalist leaders continue to inflame and exploit ethnic tensions. China and Russia are also exerting new influence, with Serbia in particular being the target of much anti-Western propaganda,” she said. “We need to attack rampant corruption, which is crippling political institutions and undermining the rule of law in the region. Leaders in every country seem to accept political office as an opportunity to stay in power; tackling the so-called state abduction must be a priority.” “and the eradication of these influences.”/Associated Press, Dnevnik