Brussels, 9 February 2023 (MIA) – “Right now we are in a situation of veto. As a result of the solution that we managed to include in the negotiating framework, negotiations will begin only after Bulgarians are added to the Constitution of our neighbor. They have not been added yet, and the negotiations have not started yet. This is a situation of veto,” said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev ahead of the meeting of the EU Council in Brussels on Thursday.

The issue of relations with North Macedonia is not on the Council’s agenda, but Radev said he will raise the issue.

“I will use the opportunity to raise the issue of the increased aggression and the escalating anti-Bulgarian campaign in North Macedonia, which leads to hate crimes – arson, shooting at our culture clubs, physically assaulting Macedonian Bulgarians and Bulgarian nationals. I will call on my colleagues for more solidarity and commitment. I expect the EU to impose monitoring and guarantees for the respect of the rights of the Macedonian Bulgarians with the same vigor as they showed when we were being urged to step up the process of integration of the Republic of North Macedonia,” said Radev.

Sofia, he said, had to explain the issue with the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia to the European partners with two consecutive vetoes for Skopje.

He said he expects a strong institutional response from the Macedonian authorities in identifying and sanctioning the perpetrators, but he added that at the moment he does not see the necessary political will in Skopje, and that, according to him, only prolongs the issues. ad/nn/