• Monday, 23 December 2024

Kacarska: It’d be a miracle to expect agreement between Sofia and Skopje on French proposal, final decision falls to political actors

Kacarska: It’d be a miracle to expect agreement between Sofia and Skopje on French proposal, final decision falls to political actors
Skopje, 29 June 2022 (MIA) – With only one day to go until the end of the French EU Presidency, it’d be a miracle to expect a possible agreement on the differences between North Macedonia and Bulgaria regarding France's proposal to lift the veto and unblock the country's European integration, but it is the responsibility of the political leadership, said director of the European Policy Institute - EPI, Simonida Kacarska. “It is very difficult for me to believe that in one day we will be able to make a crucial breakthrough in terms of what you called "ironing out" the differences due to the documents that were adopted in the Bulgarian Parliament and our red lines. I expect the Czech Presidency to take over if we don’t see a miracle by tomorrow, but probably with less intensity than what the French Presidency did. In the Czech Republic, I think that the primary focus is Ukraine, as we know, and the Summit that was supposed to be for the Western Balkans will likely shift its focus to Ukraine as well,” Kacarska said. She believes the country must work with member states that support it. "The importance of the reform aspects mustn’t dwindle, which will be very difficult, but of course it is the responsibility of the political actors who would make the decision to start negotiations in any sort of conditions,” Kacarska said in response to a question about a possible agreement and “ironing out" the differences between North Macedonia and Bulgaria about the Bulgarian proposal that passed in Parliament, which contradicts the Macedonian red lines, and what is expected if there is no agreement by tomorrow. France ends its six-month EU Presidency tomorrow. The Czech Republic will take over the rotating EU Presidency on July 1. Earlier this month, the government in Prague announced the priorities of its Presidency, which didn’t outline European Union enlargement with the Western Balkans. dk/nn/