Ohrid, 18 January 2023 (MIA) – It’s true that the process of screening is going well. The important thing is implementation of reforms. And that responsibility is first and foremost on the shoulders of the Government, although others have a role to play, too, EU Ambassador David Geer said during Wednesday’s visit to Ohrid.   

“It’s true that the process of screening is going well, the representatives from the authorities, the experts are well-prepared and it will now continue. This is the good news. But obviously, screening is not enough. The important thing is implementation of reforms. And that responsibility is first and foremost on the shoulders of the Government, although others have a role to play, too,” said Geer.  

The reforms, he noted, are included in the recommendations from the Progress Report on the country.  

“As you know, the European Commission publishes once a year a report looking at the progress on these reforms and they contain a large number of recommendations. And these are exactly the recommendations which need to be put into place and implemented. And on that basis the country will move forward to joining the European Union, but much more importantly, many of the issues that I hear from people I meet everyday are being addressed through implementation of those recommendations,” Geer said.  

As regards priority issues for the EU in terms of the reforms, Geer said the priorities are for the Government to determine, highlighting the fundamentals as issues so important that need to be looked at every stage of the process.  

“Obviously, the priorities are for the Government to determine. But within the accession process we have something called the fundamentals which are issues so important that we look at them at every stage of the process, from day one to the very last day. And these include the fight against corruption, strengthening the rule of law, strengthening public administration, ensuring respect for fundamental rights and freedoms,” the EU Ambassador said.  

Asked about the constitutional amendments and what if the change is not made, Geer believes in such case the process of accession will stop there. In terms of the 2/3 majority, the EU Ambassador said it was a matter of the government.   

“The issue of the 2/3 majority obviously is a matter of the government. I am not going to comment on the internal politics. It is not part of my job. The reform to the Constitution – the amendment to the Constitution arises from the commitment made by this country in its relation to Bulgaria to make that change. Obviously, the change is a sovereign decision for this country. What I can say is that the country already has a good record on inter-ethnic relations and this change would further strengthen that. In no way would it undermine or affect the identity of this country. You do not lose your identity on your way to the EU. Because this is being included within the general agreement which led to the opening of the negotiations, if the change is not made, then the process of accession will stop there. I can’t see it moving beyond that,” said Geer. dk/nn/