Parliamentary group leaders in Bulgaria have welcomed the EU’s decision to open accession talks with Albania and to block North Macedonia until it includes the Bulgarian minority in its constitution.
“Patience is what is required of us. We should not look aggressive because the tactic of our colleagues in the Republic of North Macedonia is to blame us (for their failure with the EU),” Boyko Borissov (EPP), leader of Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB told journalists in parliament.
Borissov, who chairs the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said he would try to persuade his colleagues from other parties “not to act emotionally, but coolly and reasonably” towards Skopje.
Ten days ago, another major scandal erupted between Sofia and Skopje after the flag of North Macedonia was not raised during an informal meeting between the two countries’ presidents.
North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski described Bulgarian President Rumen Radev as ‘uncivilised’. Immediately afterwards, GERB announced that it might demand the expulsion of North Macedonia’s ruling party, the VMRO-DPMNE, from the European People’s Party.
”The saying is, revenge is a dish best served cold. We as a country have to keep our heads up and not be in the tone of some minister,” the GERB leader added.
Kiril Petkov, co-leader of the pro-European coalition PP-DB, the second largest force in Parliament, said that the entire European Union was on Bulgaria’s side in the dispute with North Macedonia.
“The Republic of North Macedonia has to decide whether it wants to accept the Bulgarians in its constitution or its path to Europe is closed”, he said.
Petkov expressed the hope that North Macedonia would reconsider its position now that Albania was moving more quickly along the EU path.
COREPER’s decision was also welcomed by parliament’s pro-Russian parties.
Borislav Gutsanov from the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (PES) said it was “a normal reaction of Brussels after the statement from North Macedonia. You cannot have such a vocabulary, such hatred and expect to be an EU member state.”
Radical pro-Russian party Revival (Sovereignists), whose leader Kostadin Kostadinov often speaks of Bulgaria leaving the EU, also welcomed Brussels’ decision.
“The decision for Albania to start the actual negotiations for EU membership was legitimate, even belated. From now on, North Macedonia has two paths to follow – either it recognises the presence of Bulgarians as the main state-building element of its country and includes them in its constitution, or it stays out of the negotiation process,” he said.
Toshko Yordanov of the populist There is Such a Nation (ECR) said North Macedonia would remain outside the EU if it did not change its behaviour towards Bulgaria.
“The Republic of North Macedonia does not comply with the commitments it itself signed for the negotiating framework for accession to the European Union,” Yordanov said.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)
Source: euractiv.com
