Foreign Minister: Bulgaria Rules Out Renegotiating North Macedonia’s EU Accession Conditions

Bulgaria is not holding talks on revising the conditions that the Republic of North Macedonia must meet on its path to European Union membership. Sofia remains firm that the inclusion of Bulgarians in North Macedonia’s Constitution cannot be postponed to a later stage of the accession process. Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova made the statement during parliamentary question time.

The position was expressed in response to a question from Angel Georgiev, an MP from the Vazrazhdane party, who sought clarification on whether Bulgaria would consider renegotiating the EU negotiating framework or allowing constitutional amendments to enter into force at a later date.

Petrova stressed that such proposals were unacceptable to Bulgaria and that there were no grounds for reopening negotiations on commitments that had already been agreed.

According to the foreign minister, the European consensus reached so far sets out clear steps for North Macedonia’s progress towards EU membership. Each subsequent stage of the process depends on the fulfilment of specific obligations that Skopje has already undertaken.

Ensuring equal rights for people of Bulgarian self-identification in the neighbouring country remains a key priority for Bulgaria. The first necessary step is to complete the constitutional amendment procedure, explicitly including Bulgarians among the communities recognised in the country’s Constitution.

Petrova recalled that this commitment forms part of the agreed European framework and is a condition for moving on to the substantive phase of accession negotiations. Bulgaria will therefore not support any arrangement under which the amendments are adopted but their entry into force is postponed.