Bulgarian veto according to Macedonian recipe for Serbia as well
Yesterday, Bulgaria and 7 other EU countries blocked the opening of a new cluster for Serbia from the negotiations for membership in the European Union. This was also announced by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, where he stated in his statement that Croatia, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were against the opening of Cluster 3 for Belgrade, in addition to Bulgaria.
The main reason for the concern of the mentioned countries is the obvious non-compliance of Belgrade with the foreign policy of the EU.
Serbian President Vucic, regarding the lack of consent from EU members to open new chapters in the negotiations with Serbia, emphasized that he is not surprised by the blocking of Serbia's path to the EU and pointed out that it is important to continue the path despite the obstacles.
However, at the same time he was surprised by the attitude of the official Sofia, wondering why Belgrade had blamed Sofia for the Bulgarian veto.
"If God asked me what we did wrong to the Bulgarians, I wouldn't know how to explain." I seem to understand what the real reasons are, although we will never hear them. And about the Croats, everything is clear to me, I have no problem understanding it. There are two important news for us - to continue fighting and to talk with all of them", says Vucic.
As a reminder, the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev during his recent visit to Serbia, he not only threatened to block Belgrade on the road to the EU, but also specified what conditions would be scanned by the Bulgarian government when making decisions about Serbia.
- The main criterion by which we will judge and support the progress of the countries of the Western Balkans is precisely the position of our compatriots in each country. The conditions for economic and social development and above all their ability to defend their national identity, language, culture and history - explained Radev.
The Bulgarian minority – a stumbling block for Serbia on the way to the EU?
However, in order to understand Bulgaria's yesterday's decision on the veto towards Serbia, the regional media write about this issue that the answer to this should first of all be sought in the messages of Bulgarian politicians towards Serbia's policy given in the past when it came to the rights of the Bulgarian a minority in the country.
Namely, Serbian Blitz on this topic he recently wrote that this is just a continuation of Sofia's policy in the Balkans when it comes to the protection of the Bulgarian minority in the neighboring countries.
In his last visit to Serbia, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced that his country might reconsider its support for Serbia to the European Union because of, he said, how Belgrade treats the country's Bulgarian minority. Given that Sofia has a history of blocking new members, the question is how powerful is this raised finger? And how that might look, the media reports.
What has changed since then?
Serbian analysts were divided in their views after this statement, some believed that the threat was rhetorical, while others believed that it could happen one day.
Boshko YakshiQ, foreign policy commentator, for "Blitz" connects this statement of Radev with the latest events in the General Assembly of the United Nations regarding the Resolution on Srebrenica.
– This is a response to Belgrade's criticism regarding Sofia's vote in the UN General Assembly. History repeats itself, that there is always an EU member that can blackmail. That threat is more rhetorical than it can have any meaning, but also a message to avoid conflicts wherever possible - notes Jaksic.
The threat came unannounced, but should not be ignored considering that three years ago Bulgaria vetoed the process for North Macedonia's accession to the EU, accusing the government in Skopje of hate speech against Bulgarians, the analyst says.
History repeats itself?
Sava Mitrović, a researcher at the Center for European Policies, reminds the Serbian media of this.
- It should not be overlooked that Bulgaria, despite the nominal support of EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans, has already tried to use its position as a veto player for the realization of its own national interests, even when it was at the expense of wider interests. of the Union. That principle was most directly applied in the still current blocking of the accession process of North Macedonia, and I would not be surprised if Serbia's progress towards the EU was stopped at some point by the Bulgarian veto - points out Mitrovic.
Bulgarians as a minority in Serbia
By the way, according to the latest census in Serbia, there are the most Bulgarians in:
