North Macedonia’s President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova openly criticized Bulgaria during a summit of the South East European Cooperation Process in Tirana, accusing Sofia of “abusing its veto right” over her country’s EU integration. She charged Bulgaria with contesting North Macedonia’s identity and engaging in historical revisionism, which she sees as blocking the European path for her country. Siljanovska-Davkova lamented that instead of the Balkans moving closer to Europe, what we are witnessing is a "Balkanization" of the European Union.

At the same event, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev responded directly to these accusations. He acknowledged the frustration expressed by Siljanovska-Davkova regarding the delays in North Macedonia’s EU accession but stressed that these are not due to vetoes or obstacles imposed by Bulgaria or any neighboring country. According to Radev, since the 2022 European Consensus, the focus has shifted to internal issues within North Macedonia, particularly challenges around human rights and the rule of law.

President Radev reaffirmed Bulgaria’s position that it will not set any additional conditions for Skopje’s EU negotiation process beyond the existing Good Neighbor Agreement and the established Framework for Negotiations. He emphasized Bulgaria’s readiness to support North Macedonia in meeting the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership, calling Bulgaria a close and friendly neighbor committed to helping its western neighbor move forward.

During the summit in Tirana, the Bulgarian head of state symbolically received the rotating presidency of the South East European Cooperation Process from Albanian President Bajram Begaj. Bulgaria will hold this role from July 1 until June 30 next year, marking 30 years since the initiative was founded in Sofia.

The joint press conference on June 16 ended on a tense note, with the differing views of the two presidents clearly visible.