Bulgaria should not block Macedonia again, and the expansion of the European Union will go quickly because now there is a will for it, say senior European diplomats, who, after the opening of negotiations for membership in the EU, direct the pressure on the opposition, telling it that now she alone is responsible for whether the country will continue in European integration, which depends on the constitutional amendments for the entry of Bulgarians in the Preamble.

The Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Joao Gomes Cravinho yesterday in Skopje he said that he does not expect the bilateral dispute between Macedonia and Bulgaria to escalate again during the negotiations with the EU, because, according to him, this issue has been concluded and the word has been given.

- It is of essential importance in international politics to trust the given word, the signature and the undertaken obligation. The bilateral issue of North Macedonia with Bulgaria has been completed, there is a conclusion for it and this was noted by the Intergovernmental Conference. Therefore, I do not expect this issue to be raised again. I believe that when other partner countries give their word, they will fulfill it. We cooperate on a variety of issues in the EU and if blockages begin regarding what has already been agreed upon, the work will stop - said Cravinho at the joint press conference with Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelji, however, in an interview with Euroactive, said that the will to expand the EU is returning.

- What is important is that if they deliver quickly, we are ready to move quickly and since we are responsible, finally, the speed will be very, very different - Varhelji said, adding that the European Commission started the screening procedure immediately after the member states they gave the green light last week.

Asked what is the difference between the French and the Portuguese proposal, which was assessed as more acceptable for Macedonia, the head of Portuguese diplomacy Cravinho said that the goal in politics is to achieve what is possible.

- We made a lot of efforts during our EU presidency to put together an acceptable proposal. But in politics the goal is not to achieve everything, but what is possible. You need to look at the horizon and not just concentrate on current events. A very important step forward has been made and the agreement that has been reached enables the start of the screening, and then the Second Intergovernmental Conference, as soon as that process is finished and as soon as the constitutional amendments are adopted - said Cravigno.

According to him, all countries had difficult moments in the EU membership negotiations, but he sees no reason for there to be any other blockages in the process of Macedonia's accession to the Union.

His host Osmani, on the other hand, emphasized that the unilateral statement about the Macedonian language is not a historical statement in which historians should tell historical truth, but a political statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with three important elements.

– The elements are from our Constitution that it is the official language of the entire territory and in foreign affairs, from the Resolution of the Assembly regarding spatial and temporal continuity and from the conclusions of the Assembly that we will never accept to sign any agreement with the EU that does not contain a clean Macedonian language, that is, to become a member of the EU if the Macedonian language does not become official. So, those three things, the most important elements, we ensured to be part of a unilateral statement - said Osmani.

He added that Bulgaria's latest unilateral statement that it does not recognize the existence of the Macedonian language is not a precedent.

- A unilateral note on the Macedonian language with the same content was sent by Bulgaria to the United Nations in 2017, as soon as the Prespa Agreement was signed and as soon as the Macedonian language was entered in the map of world languages, but the public in our country was not informed about it. Now it is also done in the EU, where they sent that note for the first time in 2018, but it has no legal significance, because Sofia voted for the Negotiating Framework in which our language is clear - stressed Osmani.

Osmani: Historical interpretation is not hate speech

We must not put the different historical interpretations under hate speech. Our legislation clearly states that hate speech is denigration due to individual characteristics of a person or group membership. If we expand that into historical interpretations, then we open the field for such risks as we are talking about, that hate speech will also be interpreted in the area of ​​work of the Historical Commission, Osmani said yesterday.

- Hate speech is not related to the work of the Historical Commission, but how the governments should open the possibility for better relations between citizens, between businesses, between the two countries. It is obvious that we have entered into a negative trend of relations in which we choose who will say more harsh words about the other, insulting the citizens and even the states from one side and the other. We must put a stop to such a trend if we want to be friends and allies in the EU. We have no interest in being in a negative trend of relations and speech with the Republic of Bulgaria - said Osmani