"It is becoming increasingly certain that Bulgaria would block North Macedonia and it would not start negotiations with the EU," North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has told local media, warning that the decision could cause adverse events in both countries. He also says that his country would never impose a veto on the Bulgarian people.

In turn, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva has told bTV that Bulgaria would say "no" to the start of negotiations with the EU, but not to North Macedonia's membership in the European Union. "No one disputes the right to self-determination and they can call their language as they wish, but we do not agree that this right should be based on hatred, theft of history and denial of Bulgaria," she said. "In the way they are going, they could start denying the existence of the Bulgarian nation," the Foreign Minister said.