The ball is in Bulgaria's court, said Osmani from Brussels

bujar osmani
Bujar Osmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs / Photo: Free Press

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, participated in the first session of the formal EU Foreign Affairs Council with the Ministers of the Western Balkans. Osmani said that it was up to Bulgaria to use the political moment to save the EU credibility in the region, MIA correspondent from Brussels reported.

For the first time today, six foreign ministers from the Western Balkans were invited to be part of the regular formal Council of EU Foreign Ministers. The topic of the meeting was the war in Ukraine, its consequences and Russia's influence in the region.

Minister Osmani told MIA that he warned his EU counterparts about the economic and political consequences of this conflict in the region, as well as the need to save the EU credibility at this very moment, by unblocking the negotiation process with Northern Macedonia. For the Macedonian side, Bulgaria is on the move, Northern Macedonia fulfilled everything that was asked of it.

- I will repeat, the ball is in the Republic of Bulgaria. The Republic of Bulgaria has to decide whether to use this moment for the whole region after these events in Ukraine, whether the EU will take strategic leadership in the region. The Republic of Northern Macedonia was a constructive partner in these talks, in meeting these criteria. I'm afraid that this moment we have now may be lost. "As I said at the Foreign Affairs Council, the biggest gift for Russia will be to destroy the EU credibility in the region," Osmani told MIA. agreement, but that ways are being considered to incorporate the different approaches into a comprehensive solution.

Osmani stated this today in front of the 27 EU ministers, including the Bulgarian Minister, Teodora Gencovska, who, according to MIA sources, did not show flexibility at today's meeting.

In case Bulgaria blocks Northern Macedonia again in June, Osmani says we will have to "sit down and see" how to proceed.

- What will be lost the most will be the political moment, because I see less and less political capital in both countries that can be focused in order to reach a solution between the two countries, and thus for the European perspective of the region. "I hope that our Bulgarian partners will recognize that moment which is now, and what will happen next, we will have to sit down and see," the minister said.

At the same time, Northern Macedonia, through its foreign minister, announced today that the EU must help the country deal with the consequences of the war: energy crisis, inflation, record rise in commodity prices, all in parallel with the declaration of status of Northern Macedonia as an "enemy country" by Russia, due to the alignment with Western sanctions.

- Our attitude towards Russia is our moral and strategic conviction, it is the true side of history, but we share the consequences together with the EU. I had such meetings today in the European Commission, pointing out the economic consequences that the country has because of that and the common approach. The EC has already decided that the countries of the Western Balkans can enter into joint gas supply, we talked about macro-financial support to the country, I talked about attempts to diversify energy sources, said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.

Regarding the macro-financial assistance and the amount requested by Northern Macedonia from the European Union, the Minister said that the Ministry of Finance and the Government are dealing with these issues, but that he got the impression that there is understanding in the Union and the European Commission.

"I think they are aware of the European Commission and the European Union and are trying to include the region in those measures to mitigate the consequences. For us, I think the accession process is extremely important because it is the basis for further other issues," said Osmani. that the coming months, and even years, are predicted to be crises not only for the Western Balkans, but for the entire EU.

According to MIA, the proposal for the European Political Community of the French President Emanuel Macron was also discussed at today's meeting. The countries of the Western Balkans have been assured that this proposal does not mean an alternative to full EU membership, but without further details. Macron is expected to share details of the plan first with his counterparts, EU leaders, at an upcoming EU summit in late May.

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