Sofia, 24 June 2022 (MIA) – The Bulgarian parliament has taken a historic decision that gives the green light to the French proposal over North Macedonia’s EU accession, says country’s Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. “The Western Balkans’ integration is of strategic interest for the European Union,” Petkov wrote in a Facebook post after the National Assembly approved the French proposal on Friday. According to the decision, the parliament gives the government the right to approve the negotiating framework and the conclusions proposed by the French EU Presidency over the settlement of relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, provided certain conditions are met. The conditions include efficient implementation of the Friendship Treaty, guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia through their incorporation in the Constitution, nothing in the accession process to be interpreted as recognition of the Macedonian language by Bulgaria, and EU guarantees that Sofia’s conditions will be met.