Bulgaria notified the European Commission today that it is unable to accept the negotiating framework for the Republic of North Macedonia, or the accompanying draft declaration, because it does not provide the guarantees necessary for the fulfillment of the conditions set down by Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announces.
In its press release, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry states further that “Bulgaria expresses gratitude to the German Presidency of the Council of the EU and to European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi for the constructive approach and the daily joint work in search of a solution, the attainment of which is not to be ruled out despite the tight deadline”. The Foreign Ministry position states further that Bulgaria finds unacceptable the fact that this country’s conditions to the Republic of North Macedonia are being included in a Council of the EU declaration attached to the negotiating framework which is not a legally binding document and does not give Bulgaria the legal guarantees it seeks. “We would have such guarantees if our demands had been reflected in the text of the negotiating framework, something we are insisting on,” the position reads.
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