60.8% of Bulgarians Support North Macedonia in the EU Only Under Fulfilled Conditions

A majority of 60.8% of Bulgarians are of the opinion that our country should support the membership of North Macedonia in the EU, but only on condition that our nearest neighbor quickly implements the agreement it has with Bulgaria.

This is shown by the data from a national representative survey of Gallup International Balkan.

Three Memoranda were signed Today between Bulgaria and North Macedonia

15.3% of the respondents are of the opinion that our country should not support the Republic of North Macedonia to become a member of the EU under any circumstances, and 7.6% choose the option of support without any conditions. The remaining 16.3% cannot answer.

The data show high levels of principled support in our society for the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union but under a definite condition of agreement on the part of our neighbor before that, the agency reports.

The position on this issue is visibly hardened compared to the end of 2020. At that time, 6.1% thought that there should be no support under any circumstances. 51.1% were of the opinion that Bulgaria should support the Republic of North Macedonia to become a member of the EU, but only after fulfilling the terms of the agreement between the two countries quickly, and 8% - without conditions. The share of those who could not give an answer was twice as high (34.8%). It turns out that now, more than a year later, the hesitant have in fact taken a firm stand.

Highlights of the Joint Meeting between Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia

It remains to be seen whether and what impact the latest Petkov-Kovachevski meetings will have. The study cannot capture their effects because it ended before the meetings...