EU: Bilateral disputes should not delay accession process
The European Commission hopes Northern Macedonia will begin accession talks with the EU the soonest possible and, referring to bilateral disputes between Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria, as well as Albania and Greece, reiterated its position that bilateral disputes should not delay the accession process.
Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero restated these Commission positions in a press conference Tuesday when asked, obliquely, about the imprisonment of elected Himare mayor Fredi Beleri and whether the Commission views it as strictly a bilateral issue or one that should concern the EU, as well.
Pisonero declined to comment on the Beleri case, saying the Commission does not comment on pending court cases, but is following the issue.
She also referred to Bulgaria’s demand that North Macedonia recognize the existence of a Bulgarian minority in its constitution. She said the present government is committed to amending North Macedonia’s constitution.
North Macedonia’s opposition, favored to win Wednesday’s presidential and parliamentary elections, has denounced the government’s “capitulation” to Bulgaria’s demand.
Just 3,506 people out of Macedonia’s 1,836,713 population described themselves as Bulgarians in the 2021 census.
