Macedonia

"If North Macedonia does not accept the French proposal, Albania will continue alone on the path to European integration. I think that is only right, but I hope that this will not be necessary", said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after his meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama yesterday.

Another evening of protests in Skopje against the French proposal to start negotiations for the Republic of North Macedonia for membership in the European Union. Tensions rose after about 30 hooded demonstrators began throwing bombs and hard objects at the parliament building and police officers. 47 police officers were injured and 11 protesters were detained.

The draft proposal France sent to North Macedonia last week to unclog the country's EU accession talks, by removing the Bulgarian blockade over history and identity issues, is to be sent to the parliament, a meeting between the partners in the ruling Social Democrat-led coalition on Sunday decided.

Offensive and vulgar chants against the European Union and Bulgaria were heard last night during the second protest in front of the Macedonian government building against the French proposal to start negotiations for the Republic of North Macedonia for EU membership.

"The Macedonian language issue has been resolved and all lies related to it must be dismantled". This was said at a press conference in Skopje by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the RNM Bujar Osmani.

The framework that needs to be signed with the European Union will state that North Macedonia will translate the legislation into the Macedonian language.

The Speaker of the Parliament of North Macedonia Talat Xhaferi did not put to the vote the proposal of the coordinator of the parliamentary group of VMRO-DPMNE Nikola Mitseski, who asked at yesterday's parliamentary session to consider the issue of negotiations with Sofia and the negotiating framework with the EU, BGNES reports.

"Within a few days, the assembly of the first F-16 fighter for Bulgaria in America will begin". This was said to BNT by the new Bulgarian Ambassador to the USA Georgi Panayotov.

"Obviously, the war in Ukraine has sunk into the tracks and will be a long event. The question is what can be done to prevent such tensions from recurring."

This was said to BNR by Ivailo Kalfin, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Foreign and Social Minister and former MEP. He is currently the Executive Director of Eurofound.

The Foreign Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, expressed the position that the vote in the Bulgarian Parliament today will block the long-term European enlargement process and paralyze the Good Neighbour Agreement between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Just two days after the ousting of PM Kiril Petkov in a no-confidence vote, Bulgarian legislators on Friday adopted a declaration which would allow their government to potentially lift its veto on starting EU membership talks for neighbouring North Macedonia.