A top diplomat of an EU member country told a press briefing Monday that from the remarks of Bulgarian FM Ekaterina Zaharieva, it cannot be expected Sofia to back down from blocking the opening of EU accession talks for North Macedonia at tomorrow’s EU ministerial meeting and added that diplomatic efforts are continuing, MIA’s Brussels correspondent reported.
“We still believe there are chances for the negotiating framework to be aligned,” top EU diplomat has said, noting it is Brussels’ message on the eve of the ministerial meeting, where it was expected the EU officials to finally set a date allowing North Macedonia to start EU negotiations and to organize the first intergovernmental conference.
Germany’s EU presidency, the sources in Brussels say, keep on working with both Skopje and Sofia to finding a compromise. Hopes have been invested in today’s visit of PM Zoran Zaev to Berlin, where he is to ‘have contacts,’ the diplomats add without providing more details.
Bulgaria’s blockade, which involves a bilateral issue, is the final hurdle on North Macedonia’s path to EU membership, which is proving to be insurmountable so far.
“A year ago, there was a crisis involving the enlargement, we’d decided to revise the methodology for negotiations. There’s agreement up to here, what remains is the bilateral issue. Bulgaria has taken out a historical baggage and is seeking roadmap in the accession negotiations to deal with this historical baggage, it demands that it is included in the negotiating framework,” the diplomatic source told MIA.
The EU and the German presidency have been following the Bulgarian FM’s latest remarks and it’s clear to them that Ekaterina Zaharieva won’t back down tomorrow, meaning the discussion on enlargement will be on the agenda only as ‘an informative item’ and a decision shouldn’t be expected.
The Council of the EU have been stressing that bilateral issues should be kept separated from the process of joining the bloc, adding it shouldn’t serve as a tool for executing bilateral agreements.
Furthermore, the diplomats note that there’s no green light from the Macedonian side either, having in mind that the negotiating framework should be approved not only by the member countries but also by the candidate in question.
The negotiating framework for Albania is also up for debate on Tuesday, for which no major issues are involved. The option of separating Skopje and Tirana in the process isn’t being considered, because the EU believes it can manage to have the differences with Bulgaria settled. It, however, hasn’t been fully ruled out.
