Presidents Rumen Radev and Frank-Walter Steinmeier held a working meeting in Strasbourg to exchange views on the security environment in the EU's neighbouring regions and the European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Bulgarian head of state expressed Bulgaria's expectation for an active top-level bilateral dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia to resolve the contentious issues in bilateral relations. Rumen Radev pointed out that Bulgaria's south-western neighbour should show European maturity and respect for the EU values by taking specific actions to curb the hate speech against Bulgaria in history textbooks, state and scientific institutions and the media, stop the falsification of the Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage and more specifically, respect the rights of its citizens who openly express their Bulgarian identity.
Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, for which this country already achieved technical readiness in 2011, was also raised by President Rumen Radev during the meeting. The two heads of state agreed that the European Union should be much more active in seeking a peaceful and lasting solution to the crises in the neighbouring regions, which are also the cause of the increased migratory pressure on Europe.