/ world today news/ The topic of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Bulgarian veto for negotiations will turn from a priority of the French presidency into one for the Czech one. Petar Vitanov, head of the Delegation of Bulgarian Socialists in the European Parliament, said this on the air of BNR. He also commented on the latest proposal to Bulgaria within the framework of the French presidency.
“This is the first more serious proposal that embodies the demands of the Bulgarian side. The inclusion of the Bulgarians as a state-creating nation, as well as the possibility of imposing a veto during the procedure. It is important to note that we are not familiar with the bilateral treaty as a separate document, and that is the key issue. Because it is a dispute between Bulgaria and Skopje, not a dispute between Sofia and Brussels. Until we see the bilateral protocol, which is the key to solving the problem, no serious political assessment can be made,” said Vitanov.
Petar Vitanov also commented on the idea of EU President Ursula von der Leyen to make decisions by majority rather than unanimity.
“Making decisions by unanimity benefits countries like Bulgaria, for which it is one of the few instruments of influence. On the other hand, if decisions were made by majority vote, we would have been in Schengen a long time ago,” said Vitanov.
According to the MEP, there is no time within the framework of this presidency to reach a resolution on the subject of the “Republic of North Macedonia”.
“We see that, unprecedentedly, we did not have a Bulgarian position for the Council of Foreign Ministers, and at the same time we also have resistance from the Macedonian society, which predetermines the expected negative result,” added Vitanov.
“The offer to Bulgaria remains valid for the next presidency as well,” said Vitanov and added that the Czech Republic will continue to work on the important topic, because the presidency in Prague has been preparing to take over the baton for months.
The motto by which the Czech Republic will be guided during the six months at the head of the European Union, after taking over the presidency on July 1st, is: “Europe as a task: rethinking, rebuilding, regaining strength’ and is based on a 1996 speech by the late Czech President Vaclav Havel. The focus of Prague during the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU will be Ukraine. The Czech Republic is among the countries in Eastern Europe that warmly support the acceleration of the country’s accession to the EU, but this cannot happen if the topic of the Western Balkans is not also at the center of the discussions.
To contact the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP:
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