Sofia, 27 June 2022 (MIA) – Skopje now has a choice over its future, Bulgaria cannot be responsible for everyone, says Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) after the country’s National Assembly decided to accept the draft-proposal of the French EU Presidency for unblocking North Macedonia’s European path. PM Petkov says that by accepting the French proposal, Bulgaria has managed to protect its national interests. “We did something incredible. For the first time on record, Brussels has supported the Bulgarian position,” says Petkov. He says that if North Macedonia agrees with the Paris proposal, it will have to incorporate Bulgarians in its constitution prior to the start of the EU negotiating process. “We have clear control mechanisms regarding hate speech and discrimination, we have clear definitions on historic facts and education in schools in North Macedonia,” added Petkov. Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said last week that North Macedonia would accept the proposal if the negotiating framework did not raise questions on the Macedonian language and did not include historic issues, whereas the start of the negotiating process was not linked to the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution.