• Tuesday, 02 July 2024

Kyuchyuk: If Bulgarians not included in the Constitution, it will block North Macedonia’s path to the EU

Kyuchyuk: If Bulgarians not included in the Constitution, it will block North Macedonia’s path to the EU
Sofia, 12 August 2022 (MIA) - If VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski conducts his campaign with anti-Bulgarian views and opposes the inclusion of Bulgarians in the country's Constitution, it will block the Republic of North Macedonia’s path to the EU, said the Bulgarian MEP and European Parliament's Rapporteur for North Macedonia, Ilhan Kyuchyuk. “The process of negotiations between the EU and the Republic of North Macedonia has not started yet, because the screening process is waiting to be completed, which will take some time. We know from the Bulgarian experience that it lasts from a year and a half to two years, and the assessment for that screening must be carried out,” Kyuchyuk told Sofia's bTV. He noted that the French proposal to unblock country’s EU integration process is a proposal of the European Union, as it was approved by consensus by all EU members, and received the necessary political support, both in the Bulgarian and Macedonian Parliaments. According to the French proposal, the negotiations of the country by clusters and chapters should start after the completion of the screening process, but also after the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the preamble of the Constitution among the rest of the peoples living in the country. “Unfortunately, in the Macedonian Parliament, the French proposal was only approved by the votes of the ruling and part of the opposition parties. The largest opposition party categorically opposed this proposal and announced that it will not vote for the constitutional amendments and the inclusion of Bulgarians in their Constitution. This, I would say, is a very sad turn of events,” Kyuchyuk said.