site.btaForeign Minister Georgiev: EP Report on North Macedonia Not Legally Binding

The European Parliament’s report on the Republic of North Macedonia carries no binding legal weight at international level, Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev said in Brussels on Monday.

Georgiev was speaking to Bulgarian journalists during an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers focused on the situation in the Middle East.

“We respect the European Parliament and its reports,” Georgiev said. “Every candidate country must comply with the conditions set by the Member States. Bulgaria has pursued a consistent policy in this regard: we support the enlargement process, but it must be based on merit.”

Asked about his expectations for Tuesday’s vote in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on the draft report on North Macedonia, Georgiev replied, “I will not play the role assumed by some of our southwestern neighbours and their leaders. I do not believe the executive branch should interfere in the work of parliament.”

He expressed deep concern that certain politicians already claim to know the final outcome of the report, even predicting its implications. “Our MEPs are working vigorously. We maintain that the European Parliament is not competent to express positions on issues of identity and language. EU institutions must not be instrumentalized to serve political agendas.”

“No attempt to circumvent the 2022 consensus—the negotiation framework for North Macedonia—will succeed, because it will face Bulgaria’s firm opposition,” Georgiev added. He noted that no EU Member State is willing to abandon the agreement reached three years ago on the content of Skopje’s accession framework.

Turning to the situation in the Middle East, Georgiev said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no information about Bulgarian citizens seeking to leave Iran. Bulgarian diplomatic staff and their families have already left the country. The chargé d’affaires, previously based in Tehran, is now working out of Baku to remain as close as possible to Iran. “At this time, we have no indication of other Bulgarians wishing to exit Iran,” he clarified.

According to Georgiev, 150 Bulgarian nationals have requested to leave Israel, although only two of them do not hold dual citizenship.

“The safety of Bulgarians in the region remains the Ministry’s top priority. We are all alarmed by the developments in the Middle East and call for avoiding any further escalation,” he said. “It is extremely dangerous for Iran to be pursuing a nuclear programme with military aims.”

On June 4, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs decided to postpone the vote on the report on North Macedonia’s progress toward EU membership, following a proposal by rapporteur Thomas Waitz. The Committee vote is now scheduled for June 24, with a plenary vote expected in July in Strasbourg.