site.btaThere Is Such a People Party Says Rapporteur on North Macedonia's to Reconsider, Thanks to Bulgarian Parliament

Stanislav Balabanov MP of There Is Such a People (TISP) said Austrian MEP Thomas Waitz, the rapporteur on the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia towards EU accession, will have to reconsider thanks to the Bulgarian Parliament. Balabanov gave a news conference with Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev and two MPs, Toma Bikov (GERB-UDF) and Gabriel Valkov (BSP-United Left), of the government coalition, which includes TISP.

Balabanov said: "Let him [Waitz] draw his own conclusions, along with the people who thought they could exert influence. We will see the outcome very soon."

"The resolution voted by the Bulgarian Parliament is the basis for stating very clearly that we will defend to the very end the Bulgarian national interest regarding the issue of the Republic of North Macedonia, and we will not budge on this point," said Balabanov. "I hope that one day, when the Republic of North Macedonia meets absolutely all the criteria set by Bulgaria, they will be able to talk about something else," he added, and thanked all Bulgarian MEPs.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee decided to put off the vote on the report, following a proposal by Thomas Waitz. The vote in the parliamentary committee is scheduled to take place on June 24 and in the European Parliament plenary in July. The postponement came in response to a letter from all Bulgarian MEPs expressing doubts about the report and reporting irregularities, including leaks of inside parliamentary information, key elements of the draft document and controversial amendments, to officials in Skopje.

"There was quite intensive political debate around this report. I must say that I absolutely stand behind my report. All groups have been involved into the negotiations. All groups have participated in forming these compromises. This is a report of the European Parliament and the EU to the state of accession when it comes to the country of North Macedonia. This report is not there to solve bilateral issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. But the treatment of minorities is a European issue," Waitz said.