Bulgaria rejects renegotiation of North Macedonia's EU obligations

Bulgaria has ruled out any renegotiation of commitments made with North Macedonia on its EU accession path and opposes introducing qualified majority voting into the enlargement process, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova Chamova said from the podium of the National Assembly in Sofia.

Chamova rejects reopening bilateral obligations

Answering a question from a member of the "Prerodba" party, Chamova reiterated Sofia's firm position that constitutional changes with delayed effect are unacceptable and stressed protection of the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia.

Chamova said that claims about a new round of negotiations between Skopje and Sofia were partly driven by domestic political motives in North Macedonia and offered a categorical denial of any willingness in Sofia to re-open agreed obligations.

She declared: "Bulgaria does not participate in consultations to renegotiate the obligations it assumed with Skopje. There is no need for any renegotiations because such talks are unacceptable for our country, as well as any mediation on this issue. There can be no renegotiation. Claims to the contrary are unfounded and I cannot comment on them. That can, of course, be explained by elements of domestic political goals in Skopje. You know that at the moment options to introduce qualified majority in various phases of the accession process or in other EU policies are being considered, where we clearly and categorically express our stance against the qualified majority, especially within the enlargement process."

One day after Chamova's meeting in Sofia, North Macedonian Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski addressed Dutch ambassadors for Southeast Europe in The Hague, calling for a merit-based EU accession process and underlining the rule of law as central to reforms.

Mucunski said: "I expressed gratitude for the continued support from the Netherlands for a merit-based accession process, with the rule of law as a key element of reforms." He also noted that he highlighted the European Commission's document on the future of enlargement and internal EU reforms, and pointed ahead to the strategic debate expected in the European Council.

The two ministers met in Sofia at the initiative of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who visited North Macedonia last week as part of a regional tour. Mucunski described the bilateral exchange as conducted in a positive spirit but with distant positions and high mistrust, with core disagreements centring on predictability of the accession path and continued emergence of new bilateral demands.

Photo: press material from the event