Skopje, 1 July 2025 (MIA) – For the European Commission the situation is clear, if North Macedonia will fulfil and change the Constitution, which is not easy, then we should start immediately with the intergovernmental conference without any further political decisions and conditions, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in response to a reporter's question at Tuesday's joint press conference with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski in Skopje, regarding Sofia's demands to adopt the protocols in addition to constitutional amendments.  

Asked what are the guarantees the EU can deliver to the Macedonian government that Bulgaria will not block the process further, Kos pointed out that the "political objective is to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia on Cluster 1 - Fundamentals as soon as possible, meaning once North Macedonia has met the relevant criteria, agreed by the Council, meaning it has implemented its commitment to complete the constitutional changes".   

"I think that it is very much important, and today's meeting is showing that it is an imperative to advance North Macedonia on its accession path, especially as some other countries are advancing in the region very good to finalize accession negotiations. We all recognize that this is not easy, but the window is open now for the enlargement, and we all should use this window of opportunity. We all should contribute, not only the two countries, but also the European Union to come to the way which will enable for North Macedonia to start as soon as possible. The best guarantee for this process is delivering," said Kos. 

Therefore, according to Kos, the Commission continues to emphasize the importance of constructive dialogue between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, to build a spirit of mutual trust and understanding.

Asked to comment on Bulgarian amendments regarding the country report, seeking to insert the word “modern” before “Macedonian language and identity” in the report, Kos said that according to her, EU membership is the best way to protect the identity, culture and language.  

"EU membership is in my opinion the best way to protect the identity, culture and language of Macedonians. Because the EU is built on diversity, and the EU is taking care of all the member states, in the sense that our identity is well-preserved," said the EU Commissioner.  

Slovenia, she noted, is also a small country of 2 million people, but since joining the EU in 2004, Slovenian language is one of the 24 official languages of the EU. 

"Since Moldova is also a candidate country and in my portfolio, we are helping in Moldova, countering the Russian narrative which claims that they would lose their identity. Identity can never be, in my opinion, a question of political decisions. Identity is something we carry in our soul and in our hearts. Identity is how we feel about our own country. Identity is how we take care about our traditions... like the monasteries here in North Macedonia, like [Macedonian dishes] 'pogacha', 'tavche gravche', 'pindzhur', or 'polneti piperki'... It is how we look on the traditional dresses, it is what kind of relation we have to the elderly people in the country, it is what kind of relation we have to preserving our language, and this is something which nobody can take from Macedonians," Kos said.