Joint North Macedonia-Bulgaria Commission stuck – No deal for Goce Delchev


No progress has been reported in the works of the mixed North Macedonia-Bulgaria expert committee. North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski acknowledged that the commission is operating at an extremely slow pace. The chairmen of the special teams of this committee also agree that there is no progress and that this is a period of delay …

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Zaharieva: Decision not to open negotiations with North Macedonia is a rude historical mistake


Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva, said that the European Union’s decision not to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia is a rude historical mistake. “Bulgaria said a big “Yes” on opening accession negotiations,” Zaharieva said, adding that North Macedonia deserves to start membership negotiations with the EU. The Bulgarian Deputy …

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Borissov: EU will make a historic mistake if it doesn’t open negotiations with N.Macedonia and Albania


North Macedonia and Albania should get a date for accession negotiations. It would be a historic mistake if we did not let them launch the talks and a tough blow for the people of the two countries that deserve to be given a European perspective, said Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov ahead of the European …

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Zaharieva; Postponing EU talks with North Macedonia, Albania, would be a mistake


Bulgaria believes that postponing the start of European Union membership talks with the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania would be a real mistake and would destabilise the region, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said. Zaharieva was speaking in an interview with Bulgarian National Television on the eve of the October 17 and 18 meeting of …

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Bulgaria’s Parliament approves declaration on conditional support for EU accession talks with N Macedonia, Albania


Bulgaria’s National Assembly voted on October 10 to approve a framework declaration put forward by the government on the EU accession of the Republic of North Macedonia and of Albania. The declaration had not been on the agenda of the October 10 sitting but was added at the proposal of MP Emil Hristov. It was …

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Sofia conditions for North Macedonia’s EU bid: No ‘Bulgarian fascist occupiers’


Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva announced on October 9 some of the conditions that Sofia is putting to Skopje to support the Republic of North Macedonia in its bid for starting European Union membership negotiations. The points touch on various parts of history that have been highly sensitive for decades, and …

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Zaev: I don’t expect Bulgaria or Greece to block our Euro-Atlantic integration ambitions


I don’t expect Bulgaria or Greece to block our Euro-Atlantic integration ambitions, in fact, we expect them to advocate for the opening of negotiations with the EU and full-fledged NATO membership, said North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. “We don’t have a plan B if someone resorts to blockade, our plan B is to go …

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Bulgaria’s Deputy PM throws spanner in works about North Macedonia’s EU hopes


Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and leader of a nationalist party, Krassimir Karakachanov, has thrown cold water on support for the Republic of North Macedonia’s hopes of EU accession. Statements by Karakachanov, leader of the nationalist VMRO party, came in response to reported comments by the President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, about historical figure Gotse …

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Bulgaria gives North Macedonia a million leva in development aid in 2019


In 2019, the Bulgarian government has allocated more than a million leva (about 500 000 euro) for 11 development aid projects across the Republic of North Macedonia, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said. Zaharieva was speaking in Strumica at the opening of a multifunctional social centre in the municipality, financed with 270 000 leva from the …

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North Macedonia and Bulgaria sign agreement on combating human trafficking


The Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria on July 23 signed a protocol on intergovernmental co-operation in combating trafficking in human beings, the Bulgarian government information service said. For Bulgaria, the protocol was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of public order and security, Krassimir Karakachanov, and for North Macedonia, Deputy Prime Minister …

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Skopje and Sofia to jointly celebrate Ss. Cyril and Methodius, St. Clement, St. Naum, Tsar Samuil


At the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government has adopted the Information on the first meeting of the North Macedonia-Bulgaria Joint Intergovernmental Committee established as a result of the Friendship Treaty signed between the two countries, which was held in Sofia on June 10, 2019. At a government session on Tuesday, ministers …

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Historical figure Goce Delchev sparks debates between Skopje and Sofia


Goce Delchev, who is considered to be a national hero in both Bulgaria and North Macedonia, has cast doubts on the agreement for good neighbouring relations achieved between Sofia and Skopje a year ago. Experts from both countries are discussing as to whom belongs this historical figure in an attempt to settle all disputes that …

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Borissov: I expect Bulgaria and North Macedonia to maintain good-neighborly relations


I expect Bulgaria and North Macedonia to maintain good-neighborly relations, said Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the Plovdiv Economic Forum on Wednesday. PM Borissov expressed hope that the coming meeting of the Berlin Process in Poznan will take a decision that North Macedonia and Bulgaria jointly host the next summit. “We have been at …

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Bulgaria ‘regrets’ EU ministers’ delay on decision on accession talks with North Macedonia, Albania


Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said on June 18 that she regrets that it had not been possible for EU foreign ministers to make a decision on starting accession negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia and with Albania. Zaharieva was quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, in …

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Dimitrov and Zaharieva to chair first meeting of Macedonian-Bulgarian Joint Interministerial Committee


The first meeting of the Macedonian-Bulgarian Joint Interministerial Committee is set to take place in Sofia on Monday, in accordance with the provisions of the Friendship Treaty signed on August 1st, 2017. North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov will co-chair the meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in …

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Bulgaria and North Macedonia to cooperate in fight against human trafficking


Bulgaria’s Cabinet, at a meeting on May 22, approved a draft protocol on co-operation between the government of Bulgaria and the government of the Republic of North Macedonia on combating trafficking in human beings. The draft will serve as a basis for negotiations between the two countries on a final document to be signed, the …

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Pope Francis visits Bulgaria


Pope Francis recalled the example of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and his predecessor Pope John XXIII as he visited the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and met with Patriarch Neophyte, and then prayed Regina Coeli in the St. Alexander Nevsky Square. The example of Ss. Cyril and Methodius dominated the Pontiff’s remarks as …

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Orthodox Easter 2019: PMs of Bulgaria, North Macedonia exchange greetings


Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and his Republic of North Macedonia counterpart Zoran Zaev have exchanged warm greetings on the occasion of the Orthodox Christian Easter 2019, a statement by the government in Skopje said. In his message to Zaev, Borissov expressed confidence that the two of them would, with even greater strength, achieve goodness, …

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