In a heated argument Bulgarian opposition MPs today attacked the Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov that it is preparing to perform "betrayal ", ie to step down from national positions and lift the veto in Brussels on the negotiating framework for Macedonia's EU membership. At an open session of the National Assembly, at which the documents with the mark of confidentiality were not considered, the Minister of Foreign Affairs resigned Teodora Gencovska answered questions about how the talks between Sofia and Skopje have been conducted in the past six months. The session was initiated by the There Is Such a People party, which accused Petkov's government, in which it was a partner, of pursuing a dual foreign policy.

Gencovska said that Prime Minister Petkov had promised EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelji that Sofia would lift the veto by June.

- That was my first meeting with EU Commissioner Oliver Varchelli. The meeting was attended by seven or eight people from the team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - said Gencovska, answering a parliamentary question.

Petkov suggested a softer attitude towards the Macedonian language

Gencovska said in her address that Petkov sent a proposal that practically revises the Framework position adopted by the Government of Bulgaria, which, in turn, relies entirely on the Declaration of the National Assembly of 2019.

- The draft of that new Framework position does not include the Bulgarian position on the so-called Macedonian language. The demand for European guarantees under the 2017 Agreement is becoming unsustainable. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed that the document was completely wrong and rejected it as a possibility - said Gencovska.

According to her, the main problem is that while the Foreign Ministry was trying to negotiate, elsewhere the impression was created that Bulgaria could agree to less and that it was ready to make concessions.

- Ever since I took office at the first meeting with the Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani, I said: communicate only with me. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The representatives of RS Macedonia continued to seek contact outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to remove the key Bulgarian request, which is the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the Good Neighbor Agreement of 2017 - said Gencovska.

According to her, there is four topics for which progress needs to be made to protect Bulgarian national interests: implementation of the 2017 Agreement, inclusion of Bulgarians in the Macedonian Constitution, preservation of the Bulgarian position on the language of the neighboring country and inclusion of guarantees on all these issues in the negotiating framework for Macedonia with the EU.

During the parliamentary debate, opposition lawmakers repeatedly accused Petkov of preparing to commit national treason, of his government sending false signals to the Skopje government that Bulgaria's position had changed, though not, that Bulgaria was not making good use of its EU membership, and the partners, instead of putting pressure on Macedonia, are practically putting pressure on Sofia, etc. Lawmakers from the government, meanwhile, have categorically denied all allegations, arguing that there is no document confirming those speculations about alleged treason, as well as criticizing the opposition that they view any idea of ​​talks as "treason" and thus cannot to reach an agreement with Skopje.

- It is in our interest to be together in the EU, we are connected, and something has taken us away from that people. We have brought to absurdity the whole talk of EU enlargement - commented the MPs from the ruling "Revival continues".

Petkov: Distractions from the fight against the mafia

Before the session, Prime Minister Petkov said that the topic of Macedonia is used to distract attention from the fight against the mafia. He confirmed that the Government has made the decision which envisages all proposals regarding RS Macedonia, coming from the French Presidency of the Council of the EU or from a member state, to be considered in the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The BGNES news agency announced yesterday that Petkov's intention is to bypass the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry to lift the veto, so that any EU proposal related to approving the start of negotiations with the EU, which deviates from the Framework position of the Council of Ministers from 2019, to be immediately sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bulgarian Parliament, and the permanent representatives of Bulgaria in Brussels to wait for the outcome of the parliamentary debate and if the proposals are rejected, to express a negative position about them.

The EU summit will be held on June 23rd and 24th, when is the last date by which the Bulgarian government can lift the veto on the start of Macedonia's negotiation process with the EU during the French presidency. According to Bulgarian media, it is possible that Petkov's cabinet will take a step despite the risks it poses to the survival of power. On the other hand, uncertainty is growing how long Petkov's government will last after the former coalition partner, the party Has such a People, withdrew the ministers from the government, and the opposition GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov announced that it will submit a no-confidence motion to the government.