Sofia, 26 September 2024 (MIA) — Former prime ministers of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov and Kiril Petkov said Thursday the Good Neighborly Agreement between North Macedonia and Bulgaria had to be honored and called on the Macedonian authorities to decide whether they would agree to include the Bulgarian community into the Constitution or have the country's path to the EU remain closed.

GERB leader Borissov, who also chairs the Bulgarian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee, said the Good Neighborly Agreement Bulgaria and North Macedonia signed was incorporated into the EU enlargement agenda, and no one was allowed to renege on it.

Borissov said Sofia should remain calm, patient, and not appear aggressive because, as he said, "our Skopje colleagues are to blame."

He also said "anyone violating the good tone, and Bulgaria has not, will bear the consequences."

"We did everything in the European People's Party, in the European Council, in the European Commission to make ourselves heard," Borissov said.

"This is how European institutions work. They don't threaten, they don't insult. As a result, Albania is moving forward. They accepted the Bulgarian minority. Our colleagues in the Republic of North Macedonia should face the consequences of their actions," he said.

Borissov also said he would try to convince the members of the Foreign Policy Committee not to behave emotionally, but pragmatically and sensibly.

Continue the Change leader Kiril Petkov said that Skopje should decide whether it would accept the Bulgarians into the Constitution or have its door to the EU stay closed.

"Time has shown that the French proposal, the agreement we made during our government, proved to be very good for Bulgaria," Petkov said.

"In fact, the entire EU has sided with Bulgaria," he said, adding he hoped the Macedonian authorities would reconsider their actions given that the EU had decoupled Albania from North Macedonia in the accession process so Albania would "quickly continue its path to the EU."

The decision to decouple Albania from North Macedonia on the way to the EU was also welcomed by Bulgarian Rebirth party leader Kostadin Kostadinov. According to him, this happened after "Tirana recognized the Bulgarian minority and provided guarantees for all their constitutional rights."

"From now on, the Republic of North Macedonia has two options: either it will recognize the Bulgarians among its state-building elements and include them in its Constitution, or it will stay out of the EU negotiations," he said. 

Commenting on the Good Neighborly Agreement, Kostadinov said that since Skopje refused to abide by it, Sofia should no longer honor the commitments arising from it either. mr/