EU Commissioner for Good Neighborliness and Enlargement Oliver Varhelji arrived in Sofia again today for meetings with Bulgarian leaders in a bid to reassure the Bulgarian side that they will not block the start of talks on Northern Macedonia's EU membership scheduled for next month.

- After three weeks I returned to Sofia to find a common language and support in Bulgaria for the start of the negotiation process with Northern Macedonia in June. First meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, wrote EU Commissioner for Good Neighborliness and Enlargement Oliver Varhelji about the meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Petkov.

After three weeks, I am back in Sofia to find common ground and support #Bulgari to to start the negotiation process with #NorthMacedonia in June. First meeting with Prime Minister@KirilPetkov. pic.twitter.com/FkIKE0yeS4

- Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) May 19, 2022

Petkov's Cabinet issued only a short general statement about this meeting without much optimism about the date for Northern Macedonia with which Varhelji entered today with Prime Minister Petkov.

"Prime Minister Kiril Petkov had a working meeting with EU Commissioner for Good Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelji. In the Council of Ministers, the two discussed current issues on the European agenda. Among the topics of the meeting were European policy in the region of Southeast Europe and the war in Ukraine. "Bulgaria's Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said during the talks that Bulgaria will continue to play an active role in stability and prosperity in Southeast Europe," a statement from Petkov's Cabinet read.

Although Varhelji mourned the Bulgarian Prime Minister in his Twitter post, Petkov did not post joint photos or a message about the meeting with him this time, but only boasted about the meeting with Dr. Greta Fener from the Basel Institute with which the Bulgarian government signed an Anti-Corruption Memorandum.

The 🇧🇬 government and the @BaselInstitute have signed a #memorandum on anti-corruption.

MD Gretta Fenner @greatretweets, the close cooperation with the #BaselInstitute is another major step for 🇧🇬 to counter corruption & achieve higher standards of governance. pic.twitter.com/Ktxu1COagW

- Kiril Petkov (@KirilPetkov) May 19, 2022

In Sofia, Varhelji is also scheduled to meet with President Rumen Radev, as well as with Foreign Minister Teodora Gencovska.

Last week, President Rumen Radev said that pressure was mounting from EU member states for Bulgaria to lift its veto on the negotiating framework for the Republic of Northern Macedonia's EU membership.

Yesterday and The European Commission has called for talks with northern Macedonia, as well as Albania, to begin before the end of the French presidency on June 30, after French President Macron said in telephone conversations with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev that Northern Macedonia and Albania should be promptly encouraged to resume dialogue on the dispute between them.