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Radev: North Macedonia's Sustainable European Integration Must Be Based on Fulfilment of EU Membership Criteria

Head of state receives Germany's Special Representative for the Countries of the Western Balkans

In order to be sustainable, the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) should be built on the fulfilment of the EU membership criteria, head of state Rumen Radev said at a meeting here with Manuel Sarrazin, Germany's Special Representative for the Countries of the Western Balkans. The inclusion of the Bulgarians in the constitution of the RNM is a precondition for the launch of the EU membership negotiations, but it is not the only one, the President noted and reminded that an integral part of the European decision reached in July 2022 on the EU integration process of our south-western neighbour was the implementation of the agreements in the bilateral protocols under the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourhood and Cooperation.

These are no longer open issues concerning the two countries, but issues related to Skopje's relations with the EU, Rumen Radev further said. The head of state stressed that it is in the common interest to achieve as soon as possible the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution of the RNM, as well as to make serious efforts to eradicate hate speech in the RNM against Bulgarians and Bulgaria, including from the content of textbooks, public media, state and scientific institutions. Only in this way can relations of friendship and good-neighbourliness be built in the region and the RNM make progress in its European integration process.

Rumen Radev also noted that despite the active policy of insisting to European countries, politicians and institutions for an accelerated RNM EU accession, over the past year the authorities in our south-western neighbour have not demonstrated real political will to fulfil the membership criteria, which cannot be a sustainable solution along the path of European integration. Unfortunately, hate speech in the RNM has increased, we have seen physical violence against citizens with Bulgarian identity, shootings and arson of Bulgarian cultural clubs, and there are no effective punishments for the perpetrators, the President said and urged the authorities in the country to engage with these problems. The head of state also stressed that Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia share a centuries-old common history, culture and traditions, and this country expects the process of integration of the RNM into the common European family to be sustainable, stable and irreversible, and not to undermine in any way the foundations of United Europe.