We encourage the governments of North Macedonia and Bulgaria to continue their bilateral dialogue to resolve differences, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Voice of America in Macedonian, asked whether the United States has received any assurance from the Bulgarian partners that there will be no new veto for the Macedonian European integration after adopting the constitutional amendments, transmits news agency MIA.
The United States strongly supports North Macedonia’s full-fledged integration in the European Union. A European Union that includes the entire Western Balkans, including North Macedonia, will be stronger and more prosperous. We encourage the governments of North Macedonia and Bulgaria to continue their bilateral dialogue to resolve differences, fulfill existing agreements, and support North Macedonia’s swift accession, said the State Department.
Last month, U.S. Special Representative to the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee (Subcommittee on Europe) hearing on US engagement in the Western Balkans that the United States is engaged with the new government of Bulgaria to ensure it makes no new demands once North Macedonia fulfills its commitments under existing agreements.
“To further its EU aspirations, the government of North Macedonia has committed to enacting a constitutional change to recognize its Bulgarian minority. We strongly support this difficult but necessary step,” Escobar said.
The session on the first phase of the constitutional amendments, i.e. voting on the need for changes to the Constitution, is scheduled for August 18.
So far, there is no consensus between the ruling party and the opposition on the amendments by which Bulgarians would also be included in the Constitution, a condition to open the negotiations chapters.
In a Voice of America interview in May, Escobar said that by supporting the constitutional changes, the opposition is supporting North Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic path, and not the prime minister.
“We are not asking the opposition to support the prime minister. We are asking the opposition to support North Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic path,” said Escobar, expressing hope that parties across the political spectrum would vote for the constitutional changes required so North Macedonia could continue the negotiations with the EU, to move forward as quickly as possible.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, on the other hand, said that the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution is only a “preliminary condition for the start of accession negotiations”, adding that it does not exhaust the conditions that North Macedonia should fulfill, Voice of America reports.
