North Macedonia must keep the promises it has already made if it wants to move forward on its path to the EU, Bulgaria's foreign minister Velislava Petrova says. She was responding to comments from her North Macedonian counterpart Timco Mucunski about the current state of relations between Sofia and Skopje.
Mucunski said North Macedonia wants to join the EU and start talks, but warned it will not compromise at any cost. He described relations with Bulgaria as marked by "a fundamental lack of trust" and said the EU must get involved in future talks between the two countries.
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Bulgaria says North Macedonia's path to the EU is no longer a matter for the two countries to negotiate between themselves. Minister Petrova says the whole process must run through EU institutions, following the same rules set for all candidate countries.
"Good neighbourly relations are a key part of joining the EU and a must for making progress toward membership. They are also a basic building block for trust," the minister said in her official statement.
Sofia is not ruling out talks with Skopje, but it will not step outside the EU framework. Petrova says Bulgaria is ready to talk and backs the European Commission's work with every candidate country.
"We see a number of candidate countries making real progress on their commitments, even with security getting harder to manage," Petrova said. She added that she expects North Macedonia to make the changes needed and keep the promises it has made.
Bulgaria's response comes after Skopje's government again said it wants EU institutions to play a bigger role in its relations with Sofia. Mucunski says his country needs more certainty and stronger guarantees on its path to the EU.
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The gap between the two countries remains. Skopje wants extra guarantees before taking the next steps, while Sofia says the conditions are already written into the EU process and expects them to be met. Bulgaria's position is clear: North Macedonia's progress toward the EU depends on whether it keeps the promises it has already made.