North Macedonia seeks talks with Bulgaria on unblocking its path to EU

North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had advised him to seek talks with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova during an upcoming meeting in Sofia on October 7 and 8 on railway Corridor VIII.

North Macedonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski will attend the Sofia meeting and, following von der Leyen’s advice, is expected to seek a meeting with Petrova in an attempt to “restore the country’s path towards EU accession talks”. Mickoski said a diplomatic note requesting a bilateral meeting was immediately sent to Sofia, BTA reported.

At a joint press conference with von der Leyen, who is visiting Skopje as part of a tour of the Balkans, Mickoski said he had raised with the Commission president the possibility of EU mediation in talks with Bulgaria.

Von der Leyen said a possible meeting between Mucunski and Petrova in Sofia would be a “first step towards an attempt to restore North Macedonia’s European integration process”.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova