At the press conference held after the meeting of the 27 Ministers of European Affairs in Brussels, the French Minister for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, answered the question of ABC regarding the announcement made in the European Parliament by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia , Bujar Osmani, according to whom, Bulgaria and North Macedonia are very close to finding an agreement that would unblock the deadlock created due to bilateral issues at the historical, cultural and linguistic level. 

Minister Baune said: “It is true that there are echoes and positive signals on the discussions on bilateral issues that have been discussed and are being discussed between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. I was visiting Bulgaria at the beginning of the French presidency, shortly after the confirmation of the new government in Bulgaria. I have recently been in contact with the Bulgarian authorities and with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Petkov.

There is a very serious commitment, both from Skopje and Sofia, to find a solution to the bilateral issues that have caused obstacles. I can not prejudge the process, but I confirm these positive signals. If these efforts are crowned in the coming weeks, then it will be up to the French presidency to proceed with the next stages. Hopefully this happens. But I can not tell you today that we can start membership negotiations.

/Klara Ruci/