site.btaBulgarian President Meets North Macedonia's Head of State, Expects EU Membership Criteria to Be Fulfilled

Bulgaria expects the Republic of North Macedonia to fulfil the European Union membership criteria, President Iliana Iotova said during a meeting with her counterpart from North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the Bulgarian President's press office said on Wednesday.

The two held talks within the framework of the Summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process, hosted by Iotova.

She stressed that North Macedonia must implement the so-called “French proposal” it signed in 2022, which later became a common European position regarding the country’s EU accession. Iotova emphasized that these are European membership criteria, not Bulgarian requirements. In order to begin accession negotiations, Skopje must fulfil its commitments, including the inclusion of Bulgarians in its Constitution. The Bulgarian President also insisted on respect for the rights of Bulgarians in the country and an end to hate speech in North Macedonia.

The meeting was also attended by Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivanka Tasheva and North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski. During the talks, the Bulgarian head of State raised the issue of medical treatment for 23-year-old Iva Mihailova, who was injured in a traffic accident. She has had her identification documents confiscated due to an ongoing investigation and is not allowed to leave Kocani, although she requires medical treatment in Bulgaria, the statement said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Siljanovska-Davkova spoke to Bulgarian media after the SEECP Summit. Asked when her country will amend its basic law to insert the Bulgarians in it, the head of State said that she was not a monarch so as to revise the Constitution and that only the members of Parliament can do so.