“There are individuals and marginalized groups, there are even political parties in the country that are funded by third countries that do not want to see North Macedonia in the EU and are working against a possible agreement between Bulgaria and North Macedonia," said the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski in an interview for the show “360 degrees”, quoted by BTA.

68.9% of Bulgarians want Bulgaria to maintain a Firm Position on North Macedonia in the EU

According to him, the optimism expressed by Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov is based on the progress of the working groups and the results achieved - a functioning airline, scholarships for Macedonian students to study in Bulgaria, meetings of mayors on both sides of the border for cross-border cooperation.

Bulgarian PM: Bulgaria has Not Promised a Date for lifting the Veto for North Macedonia

“There are also political talks, but we still do not have a final document, when we get to it, we will share it with all political and public actors,” Kovachevski said when asked why he kept the opposition out of the process. He specified that VMRO-DPMNE had been invited to join the working groups, and the deputies in the parliamentary committee on foreign policy were acquainted with the ongoing negotiations. But “any agreement that is reached will be criticized by the opposition,” Kovachevski added.

He also commented on the possibility for Bulgarians to be included in the preamble of the Constitution, specifying that the constitutional order in the Republic of North Macedonia allows collective exercise of individual rights, and each country on its way to EU membership makes changes to its Constitution to bring it in compliance with EU law.

Officially from Skopje: 3504 People in North Macedonia Counted as Bulgarians

“The inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution, and here we are not talking only about Bulgarians, but also about Croats and Montenegrins, will normally go through a procedure of constitutional changes and it will take more time, and this process must be supported by virtually all political parties. The vote is by a two-thirds majority” Kovachevski said, describing as “details that can be discussed” the question of whether to do so before negotiations begin.

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