Bulgaria, Slovakia discuss North Macedonia’s EU accession

Bulgaria has asked for Slovakia’s support in pressing North Macedonia to honour the commitments it made on its path to EU membership. The issue was discussed at a meeting in Sofia between President Iliana Iotova and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. The two stressed that EU enlargement should follow the established rules and depend on the progress made by each candidate country.

“You know that we have certain problems with the Republic of North Macedonia and its EU membership. We are seeking your support for Skopje to follow the European accession policy. For four years, we have seen no progress in implementing the commitments North Macedonia made in 2022,” the President said.

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North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations are a sensitive issue for Bulgaria, which insists that the commitments made by Skopje should be fulfilled before the next stages of the accession process. These include adding Bulgarians to the list of communities recognised in North Macedonia’s Constitution and guaranteeing the rights of the Bulgarian community.

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President Iliana Iotova highlighted Slovakia’s support for the Bulgarian community and its cultural and educational institutions. “This is extremely important to us,” Iotova said, adding that the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Hristo Botev Bulgarian Secondary School in Bratislava will soon be marked.

Speaking about cooperation in education, she also highlighted the Bulgarian-language lectureships at leading Slovak universities.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova