Germany is confident that the current impasse in North Macedonia‘s EU accession process will be resolved after early elections in Bulgaria on October 27, German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock said on Tuesday.
It was preceded by the disconnection of North Macedonia’s European course from that of neighboring Albania, which is starting accession negotiations.
The EU has decided to start accession talks with North Macedonia in 2022, but the first round of negotiations has not started as the country’s accession path has been blocked by a dispute over the recognition of Bulgarian minorities in Macedonia’s constitution.
“At the moment there are elections in Bulgaria and (…) we have to seize the opportunity after that”, Germany’s foreign minister told reporters on Tuesday, referring to the upcoming early elections in Bulgaria.
Burbok pointed out that the election campaign in North Macedonia earlier this year also made it difficult to discuss constitutional changes. The newly elected government wants to renegotiate a new compromise agreement.
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The hope is that after the Bulgarian elections, “the step of amending the constitution can be done jointly, but in such a way that it is also possible for North Macedonia”Burbok said, hinting at the measure’s unpopularity.
Macedonian Foreign Minister Timco Mukunski warned that North Macedonia’s EU bid should not be an issue in the election campaign.
“We hope that we can find rational solutions with the government after the elections in Bulgaria with the support of Germany”he said.
Germany has long been an advocate of EU enlargement to include Western Balkan states in the EU, going so far as to launch the Berlin Process in 2014 to speed up the region’s integration. A summit in Berlin on Monday marked the 10th anniversary of the process.
It is of course surprising that Greece is absent from the entire process, which sees the new government of North Macedonia (and ideologically close to the New Republic), violating the Prespa Agreement with the political leadership – among others – not complying with the prescribed reference in the country exclusively under its constitutional name “North Macedonia”.
It is noted that in a recent meeting with his counterpart from North Macedonia, the Greek Foreign Minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, noted that the development of the European perspective of all the countries of the Western Balkans, including North Macedonia, depends on the fulfillment of the obligations arising from the Community acquis and international law, including adherence to international agreements such as the Prespa Agreement and the observance of good neighborly relations.
Read also: Orban: North Macedonia should already be a member of the EU.
Bulgaria, however, has vetoed North Macedonia’s accession process, due to historical, ethnic and linguistic differences that last for decades.
In July 2022, the governments of the two countries accepted a proposal from the EU, in order to disengage North Macedonia’s European course and to enable the country to start accession negotiations with the EU. The proposal stipulated that Bulgaria would lift the veto, on the condition that North Macedonia proceed to amend its Constitution, in order to include the Bulgarian minority living in the country.
Since taking office in June, North Macedonia’s new center-right government has been embroiled in controversy and calls for a renegotiation of the 2022 compromise.
That led EU officials last month to decouple North Macedonia’s progress towards EU membership from that of neighboring Albania, which was able to start accession talks on Tuesday.
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With respect to Thanasis Karteros
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