Bulgaria: The French Proposal on Veto for North Macedonia has been sent to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Politics | June 17, 2022, Friday // 21:40
Bulgaria: Bulgaria: The French Proposal on Veto for North Macedonia has been sent to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

The French proposal for a decision on the veto imposed by Bulgaria on North Macedonia for the start of negotiations for EU membership has been sent to the Foreign Policy Committee of the National Assembly. This was reported to BNR by two independent sources from the parliament.

A document sent by the French presidency to Foreign Policy Committee Chairwoman Ventsislava Lyubenova said that "accession talks call for special attention to be paid to the protection and non-discrimination of citizens from minority groups and communities in North Macedonia". To ensure this, progress on this issue will be closely monitored by the Commission, which will report to the Council.

It was emphasized that the EU notes the intentions of Bulgaria and North Macedonia to make a unilateral declaration on the Macedonian language.

Along with the requirements for the implementation of important reforms and legal changes for the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union - such as judicial reform and the fight against corruption and organized crime, there is also the fight against hate speech and discrimination.

The negotiating framework includes the requirement to achieve concrete results and the conscientious implementation of bilateral agreements, including the 2017 Good Neighbor Agreement with Bulgaria and the May 2018 Sofia Declaration.

North Macedonia will have to adopt an inclusive Action Plan to protect the rights of minorities in the areas of non-discrimination, anti-hate speech, education, effective measures, reporting mechanisms and the identification of responsible institutions. The implementation of this roadmap and Action Plan will be constantly monitored and regularly discussed at Intergovernmental Conferences during the process (of accession).

Yesterday, Ambassador Florence Rubin met with members of the Friendship Group with France in the National Assembly. The document was discussed at this meeting. It was also discussed whether the government has the necessary majority to accept it.

Later, “Democratic Bulgaria” leader Hristo Ivanov explained on the sidelines of parliament that it would be a success for Bulgaria if Skopje agreed to accept Bulgarian conditions and the EU became a guarantor of their implementation.

On Wednesday, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision that all proposals on the case with North Macedonia, other than the current Bulgarian position, be approved by the National Assembly.

One week ago, this topic became the reason for “There Is Such a People” to leave the ruling coalition, and the party's leader Slavi Trifonov described the actions of Prime Minister Kiril Petkov as a national betrayal.

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Tags: EU, French, Bulgaria, north macedonia

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