site.btaPM Petkov: We Need Broad Consensus on Issue of Skopje's EU Accession

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that Bulgaria needs a broad consensus on the issue of the start of Skopje's EU accession talks. Speaking to the press on Monday in the Vatican as he emerged from an audience with Pope Francis, he said that lifting the Bulgarian veto on the start of EU accession talks with North Macedonia could be on the agenda after the Foreign Ministry in Sofia reports the results of the dialogue with North Macedonia. 

Petkov said: "For some things, there are red lines that need to exist, such as the issue of corruption. For a national question as this one, it is crucial that nobody has a right to make a decision on their own. We need to have concord and not even a coalition decision is enough, if we want to change the Bulgarian position. We need a broad consensus which includes the government coalition and parts of the opposition," Petkov said.

"We can talk of lifting the veto on the start of EU talks with North Macedonia only after the Foreign Ministry presents the latest results of the progress [of dialogue] between the two countries, and the Consultative Council on National Security (CCNS) meets so that they can be discussed, including with the opposition and the security services, and an agreement reached, and then Parliament to decide on the matter as well. And only after we have held a discussion and come to an agreement, can we make this step [of lifting the veto]. Anything else is used for the pursuit of domestic political goals," said Petkov.

In the past days, the Prime Minister has been calling repeatedly for a meeting of the CCNS with the President but President Rumen Radev said that a consensus already exists in Bulgaria and that he wants to hear Petkov's thoughts before deciding to convene the CCNS.

He added that much has happened since the last meeting on North Macedonia some six months ago: "talks, meetings, proposals". "Nothing is better that all of us sitting at one table and taking stock of what has happened in the past six months."

National Assembly Chair Nikola Minchev said in Sofia that the topic of lifting the veto should be discussed in Parliament, as it is the representative body for the whole of Bulgarian society.

"Certainly, in recent months the dialogue [with North Macedonia] is at its highest level compared to the previous years," Minchev said, adding that this has has led to progress and is the reason why the Prime Minister wants the CCNS to be convened with the President. According to Minchev, the CCNS's representation is such that it would allow for a national stance to be achieved.

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By 13:30 on 10.01.2025 Today`s news

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