site.btaResolving Conflicts in Balkans Key to Lasting Cooperation, Deputy PM Zafirov Says

Finding lasting solutions to all outstanding conflicts between Balkan countries is an essential foundation for any initiatives concerning cooperation and partnership in the region, including the accession process of the Western Balkan countries to the European Union, said Deputy Prime Minister and BSP–United Left Chair Atanas Zafirov. He was speaking at a conference titled “The Balkans – for Peace, Security, Cooperation and Partnership”, organized by the Strategic Institute for National Policies and Ideas, BSP–United Left said in a press release on Friday.

Zafirov stressed that sustainable cooperation cannot be built on inherited disputes. He underscored diplomacy and political dialogue as the real guarantees for peace and cautioned that Europe’s ongoing militarization must be accompanied by efforts to achieve political understanding.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the war in Ukraine has created new challenges for the European Union and the Balkan states. “Tensions along the Union’s eastern border have brought the issue of EU enlargement to the forefront as a geopolitical necessity,” he said.

He recalled that Bulgaria’s position on the enlargement process remains clear and consistent: “Bulgaria supports the accession of new member states once all criteria have been met and the principle of consensus is upheld. We reject proposals for key EU decisions to be made by qualified majority voting.”

On the North Macedonia’s EU accession, Zafirov said: “We support the requirement for [North Macedonia’s] Constitution to include Bulgarians as a constituent people, a condition clearly set out in the negotiating framework.” The constitutional amendment is essential for Skopje to move forward with the next phase of its EU accession negotiations.