Sofia, 17 April 2025 (MIA) - Bulgaria is not placing any additional conditions on the process or negotiations of the Republic of North Macedonia on its path toward the EU, Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova told the opening of the "EU Meets the Balkans" forum in Sofia on Thursday, BTA reports. 

The event is organized by the European Liberal Forum, the ALDE Party, and the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. Attendees included Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, representatives from Turkiye, Romania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro. Bulgarian MPs and policy experts were also present.

Iotova emphasized that bilateral relations between the two countries are not the reason for Skopje’s EU accession talks not moving forward. She noted that this argument is often brought forward by "our colleagues from the Republic of North Macedonia as well as by some European politicians and experts, who suggest that the process is being blocked by both sides".

"What Bulgaria is asking for is compliance with the European criteria - the same ones that every country on the path to full EU membership has had to meet, often at the cost of difficult decisions and tough compromises. We continue to believe that the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia are not protected," Iotova said, noting that the framework agreed upon in 2022 within the EU, based on the French proposal, does not contain Bulgarian claims but European criteria for membership, the main one being the protection of human rights. Iotova added that the framework is a European document that must be respected and implemented, and it cannot be altered, rewritten, abandoned, or left on the back burner.

According to her, halting or freezing the EU enlargement process would bring even more instability, conflicts, and influence from hostile forces. She said a clear answer is needed to the question of whether the EU wants the countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova to have a close and realistic European perspective.

The Vice President raised the issue of whether enlargement matters should be decided by qualified majority voting among member states. She noted that EU countries are grouping together to change European legislation and the decision-making process. "There are a few topics I cannot agree with, and one of them is the topic of enlargement," she said.

In her words, the ultimate goal of enlargement should be a strong EU, a global leader alongside others, working in the interest and for the future of its citizens. Without the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, there can be no talk of stability and security within the Union and the continent, she pointed out.

Photo: BTA