Berlin, 15 October 2024 (MIA) — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, after her meeting with Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski in Berlin, said she was in favor of abandoning decision-making by consensus in the EU, but until that happened, North Macedonia had to honor compromises made, Deutsche Welle reports.

"Introducing the Bulgarian minority into your Constitution is the last step before opening the first negotiation cluster with the EU," Baerbock said after meeting with her Macedonian counterpart in Berlin, a day after the Berlin Process summit during which Western Balkan leaders concluded several agreements to improve regional cooperation in economy and education.

At the press conference after the meeting with Mucunski, Baerbock spoke about the constitutional change as a key step toward North Macedonia's opening negotiations with the EU, although she herself said she was in favor of dropping the consensus requirement, especially regarding ​​enlargement.

She said she hoped some progress would be made after Bulgaria's parliamentary elections at the end of this month and encouraged leaders to take politically responsible and brave steps to do the best for their country despite negative public sentiment.

"We, Germany, want to help this happen regarding North Macedonia and Bulgaria," Baerbock said. She said this was not about injustice toward the country but about honoring EU rules.

"Those are the EU rules. Decisions are made unanimously. This is not about any injustice. We don't agree with our European partners on everything, but those are the rules. Until those rules change, which I personally am in favor of, they should be honored," the German foreign minister said. mr/