The Bulgarian government vetoed the start of Northern Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the European Union.
The Bulgarian government today ratified, a few days after a parliamentary vote, the lifting of the veto on the start of Northern Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the European Union.
“The cabinet has given its approval,” the government said in a statement.
MEPs on Friday voted in favor of the French proposal, which holds the rotating EU presidency until the end of June and will act as mediator.
Emanuel Macron then expressed “satisfaction” for the vote, talking about a “significant progress” although there is “still work” to be done.
A bilateral protocol must now be adopted by the governments of the two neighboring countries.
From 2020, the Bulgarian position prevented the start of negotiations not only with Skopje, but also with Tirana, the two EU-linked candidates.
In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the strategic importance of the Western Balkans has increased, and the question of the European future of the region is being raised in a more pressing way.
According to the compromise on the table, Skopje must mainly commit to amending its constitution to include Bulgarians in recognized ethnic groups and “implement” a 2017 friendship treaty aimed at eliminating hate speech.
Northern Macedonia is also being called upon to review its school curricula and open communist police records that should show the ill-treatment of Bulgarians in this former Yugoslav republic.
The issue of language, which Sofia considers a Bulgarian dialect, is also particularly sensitive.
The Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, had ruled last week that the compromise proposal “in its current form” was “unacceptable”.
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