Timcho Mucunski formally requests meeting with Bulgarian counterpart next week in Sofia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia has formally requested a meeting between Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski and his Bulgarian counterpart Velislava Petrova-Chamova, the ministry confirmed. If Sofia accepts the diplomatic note, the ministers could meet next week in Sofia on the margins of a ministerial meeting dedicated to Corridor VIII.

The initiative follows a meeting on the same day between Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Skopje. Both leaders discussed the outstanding issues between Skopje and Sofia that affect North Macedonia's EU accession process.

Diplomatic step aimed at unblocking EU path

In a statement, the ministry said: "A meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski and the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova-Chamova has been requested today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, which would take place next week on the margins of the ministerial meeting dedicated to Corridor VIII."

Speaking after the Mickoski–von der Leyen meeting, the commission president said: "We agreed to take a first step next week and to try to unblock the process, that is, to turn it into a process, that is the most important part." She and the prime minister agreed that an initial move should be made the following week in an effort to de-escalate the blockage.

Prime Minister Mickoski added that von der Leyen advised that, during Foreign Minister Mucunski's visit to Sofia next week, a bilateral meeting with the Bulgarian minister should be requested by the host, pointing to Corridor VIII and the related projects as a reason to seek such a meeting. "I immediately asked the minister to send a diplomatic note and to request time for a meeting with his counterpart and to start moving the process from somewhere," Mickoski said.

The European Commission president also reiterated that adopting constitutional amendments remains the next formal step North Macedonia must take to progress on its EU path. Von der Leyen praised the country’s reform achievements under the EU Growth Plan and said the EU would welcome North Macedonia with its identity and language once the process is unblocked.

Photo: Printskrin