President Rumen Radev held a meeting with the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. During the talks, the Bulgarian head of state raised the issue of the EP's key role in upholding European values and democracy when assessing the progress of the Western Balkans on their European path. According to Rumen Radev, the attempts to interfere in changing the content of documents prepared by European institutions, including the EP, by countries that are candidates for EU membership, are unacceptable.
Rumen Radev expressed his gratitude for the timely reaction and decisive support for the Bulgarian MEP, who was denied access to the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) in early May this year. President Radev stressed that this act was contrary to European principles and demonstrated disrespect for a representative of an EU institution. The head of state further said that was not an isolated case in which the RNM violated good neighbourly relations.
As a particularly worrying development of the situation in the RNM, the President highlighted the public statements of senior state officials about the preparation of blacklists for Bulgarian citizens, including politicians, who are denied access to the territory of the RNM. This approach demonstrates the insurmountable legacy of the totalitarian past and reveals the need for substantial reforms in the country to overcome it.