Waitz urges Commissioner Kos to press for diplomatic solution in North Macedonia–Bulgaria dispute
EP rapporteur called on Commissioner Marta Kos to press for talks between Sofia and Skopje after the 2026 enlargement package presentation.
Thomas Waitz, the European Parliament rapporteur for North Macedonia, urged Commissioner Marta Kos to step up diplomatic efforts to resolve the bilateral dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria during a hearing at the Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), where the 2026 enlargement package was presented.
“I would like to positively highlight how Croatia and Montenegro are dealing with bilateral issues. I want to thank Prime Minister Plenković and Prime Minister Spajić for talking to one another, for sitting at the same table and for finding solutions to bilateral issues. Because bilateral issues must in no case obstruct progress in the accession process, and that is exactly how it should be handled,” Waitz said.
Waitz added that he sees the Croatian–Montenegrin example as one that could be followed elsewhere: “I believe that this is also an excellent example of how bilateral issues that require dialogue can be approached in other countries, such as North Macedonia.”
He warned that some bilateral matters have now reached a European level — notably the inclusion of minorities — and that constitutional amendments must be completed. “But I repeat, the only way out of that dead end is for the parties to talk to each other, i.e. the governments of Bulgaria and North Macedonia to sit down and talk. And because we know motivation is not always at the highest level, Commissioner, please make efforts in this diplomatic direction,” Waitz told Kos.
Commissioner Marta Kos, when presenting the 2026 enlargement package and the European Commission’s reports on ten candidate countries, said each candidate can join the group of fast‑moving countries if it chooses and that the Union encourages all candidates to make that choice.
On North Macedonia specifically, Kos said the government shows commitment to reforms and to the reform agenda. “The European Commission will continue to support the country on its path to the EU. Our goal remains to open the first cluster as soon as the conditions are met. The country must fulfil its commitment to complete the constitutional changes as set out in the Council conclusions of 18 July 2022. Now it depends on North Macedonia,” she said.
Photo: press material from the event
