After the European Commission on Wednesday for the first time set a deadline for holding the first intergovernmental conference with Northern Macedonia and Albania and negotiations with both countries to begin Before the end of the French presidency, on June 30, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhei, before leaving Sofia, said that he would return there in three weeks to find a mutually acceptable solution for opening negotiations with Northern Macedonia. The government, on the other hand, believes that although the country wants to start negotiations with the EU, it should not be at any cost and to the detriment of state interests in resolving the dispute with Bulgaria.

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bojan Maricic said last night that the month of June, as decisive for obtaining a date, is mentioned by the EU because of the geopolitical situation with the war in Ukraine and that the Government wants to start negotiations with the EU, but not at any cost and to the detriment of state interests in resolving the issue with Sofia.

- The EU is the one that, pressured by the geostrategic situation, started to communicate first in June as date and Commissioner Varhei and official EU spokesmen. This means that there is a sense of urgency in the EU. However, we do not intend to take a step that would violate our interests, Maricic said.

As the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized, we want to start negotiations with a fair agreement, which will not encroach on our dignity and identity.

- Our path is clear and it has always been clear. "We have never given up and it has never been easy, we have always had difficulties and Northern Macedonia is one of the countries that had the most difficult path to fulfilling its strategic interests," Maricic said.

He emphasizes that as Government introduced a new approach with Bulgaria to ce come to a certain point of solution.

- We did our best in this period and it was our duty to give a chance to these talks. We do not give up on that, nor have we ever tied ourselves to June, as a crucial date. And we worked really hard in the past 120 days since when is this Government. There were several meetings with the Bulgarian side, we discussed all open issues and there is a basis for a fair solution, said Maricic, who said that in four months he could not ce expects a radical turnaround in relations with Bulgaria.

The Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration stressed that in a situation where there is a war in Ukraine, when all countries ce determined for a higher level of strategic thinking, Bulgaria should do the same.

Maricic reminded that the framework for the Western Balkan countries is EU membership. She, as that said, was established back in 2003 year.

Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, after a meeting with a high delegation of the French Foreign Ministry, said that he appreciated the efforts made by France to unblock the European integration process by holding the first intergovernmental sessions with Northern Macedonia and Albania, during the French presidency of the Council of the EU.

"The start of accession negotiations and EU membership is a geostrategic investment for stability and prosperity for the countries of the Western Balkans, but also for Europe, especially in the current geopolitical context," Osmani wrote.

After meeting in Bulgaria with President Rumen Radev, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Foreign Minister Teodora Gencovska, EU Commissioner Varhei expects Sofia to agree within three weeks to start the negotiation process with Skopje.

After the meeting with Petkov, Varheji wrote on Twitter that he would soon return to Sofia to find a mutually acceptable solution for opening negotiations with Northern Macedonia.

After the meeting with Petkov, EU Commissioner Varheji wrote on Twitter that he would soon return to Sofia to find a mutually acceptable solution for opening negotiations with Northern Macedonia.

- Intensive meeting with Minister Teodora Gencovska in Sofia. We talked about the direct consequences of the war in Ukraine for the Western Balkans and beyond. We are working on a mutually acceptable solution so that we can start negotiations with RS Macedonia and Albania by holding an intergovernmental conference in June. I appreciate the open dialogue with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. The importance of having a stable and prosperous Western Balkans is priceless. In this context, a significant contribution would be the holding of the first intergovernmental conference with Northern Macedonia and Albania. We need to work on this together. In three weeks, I will return to Sofia to find a common ground and support from Bulgaria, to start the negotiation process with the Republic of Northern Macedonia in June, writes EU Commissioner Varheji.

After Varhey's visit to Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister Petkov announced that there was no stand-alone veto deal, but that a possible deal should pass through several filters, first to the Foreign Ministry, which should inform the government, the coalition council and parliament.

- If there is an agreement with Northern Macedonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should inform the Government, the Coalition Council and the Parliament to decide. The Prime Minister can not make decisions on his own, said Kiril Petkov on whether he took steps to give the "green light" to Northern Macedonia.

The Macedonian authorities, on the other hand, remain committed to the country's European integration process and in that direction to reaching an agreement with Bulgaria in order not to delay the start of membership negotiations. Hopefully and Despite some announcements coming from the EU for the formation of a European geopolitical community, the enlargement process will not be affected by the EU's alignment with the new geopolitical environment in Europe and the current post-war relations in Ukraine.

In this regard, the EU representatives in the country assure that the accession processes for the Western Balkan countries remain the main driving force and that there are no changes in the enlargement process. 

The EU Ambassador to the country David Gere said yesterday that the EU wants the start of negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania as soon as possible and encourages all efforts to achieve this goal.

"We are absolutely determined to move forward, we know it is in the strategic interest of the EU and the Western Balkan countries for these countries to join the Union, and we expect the process to continue and see Northern Macedonia in the EU as soon as possible," Gere said. .

Asked if the new proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron was a substitute for a possible failure of the enlargement process, Gere said Macron and European Council President Charles Michel were clear.

- The accession processes for the countries of the Western Balkans remain the main driving force. There are no changes to the enlargement process and the only way is enlargement to the Western Balkans. It is an absolute priority and a path based on reforms. "Therefore, I do not see this as affecting the path to full EU membership," Gere said.

A similar message was sent by the German Ambassador to the country Anke Holstein. The countries in the region, he said, belong to the EU. - The German Chancellor in a government declaration stated that the countries of the Western Balkans region belong to the EU. That's the message the region needs. He also added that the geopolitical situation is more urgent than ever and this is a strategic goal for Germany as well. The German government remains committed, Holstein said.

MEPs on Thursday, with 508 votes in favor and 56 against, adopted the European Parliament Rapporteur on Northern Macedonia, Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kucuk, adopting some of the controversial amendments. According to the MIA correspondent from Brussels, the report welcomes the country's reform progress and insists on the implementation of the Good Neighbor Agreement with Bulgaria. However, the adopted version also includes some of the controversial amendments, such as those on "historic reconciliation and common history" with Bulgaria and the assessment that there is no progress in the implementation of the Friendship Agreement between the country and Bulgaria from 2017, which is not the position of the European Commission. in its last report in 2021.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the adoption of the EP Resolution on Northern Macedonia, pointing out that, as before, MEPs sent a clear political message on the importance of accelerating the European integration process and the immediate start of negotiations for the country's EU membership.