Bulgaria’s new Prime Minister Kirill Petkov told the Bloomberg news agency he was ready to lift the veto on North Macedonia on the path to integration.

Bulgaria has blocked North Macedonia’s talks with the EU for historical and linguistic reasons, claiming that the rights of Bulgarian miners have been denied in the neighboring country.

The EU, on the other hand, in the integration process has decided not to separate Macedonia from Albania in the negotiations, which has postponed the date of the first Intergovernmental Conference between the 27 EU countries and the two Western Balkan countries.

Prime Minister Petkov’s coalition partners are still skeptical of offering concessions and his task for a deal will be difficult. Petkov said the working groups would meet “intensively” to make progress on the issue over the next six months, providing a basis for Bulgaria to reconsider its position.

/Klara Ruci/