Sofia, 31 May 2022 (MIA) – Bulgarian President and Prime Minister, Rumen Radev and Kiril Petkov respectively, accompanied by a representative of the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will soon visit Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, who will present a proposal on lifting Sofia’s veto for the start of North Macedonia’s EU accession negotiations, BGNES reports citing sources of parties within the ruling coalition. The parties were briefed on the Paris visit at last week’s session of the Consultative Council for National Security, which focused on the Sofia-Skopje relations, reports the news agency. At the Council session, a representative of the Bulgarian government briefed participants that Sofia was assured by Paris that “all Bulgarian demands will be incorporated in the negotiating framework for North Macedonia and Macron will personally guarantee their implementation”. “This practically means that we fully believe Macron but at the same time risk entering into a decade-long dispute, since each member-state can block any decision. This will be an endless row and we don’t want the Turkish scenario,” sources told BGNES. Another Council source said the French plan contained proposals that are not entirely clear and it is not certain if the European Commission can provide guarantees over their future implementation. The sources say France insists on this solution “due to Ukraine’s wish to start EU accession talks” and it would be a very bad signal if Kyiv received an invitation, while North Macedonia and Albania continued to wait. Macron’s plan must be ready before the session of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union and approved earlier by the Bulgarian MFA. “Bulgaria wants North Macedonia to start the EU accession negotiations more than Skopje itself, let alone France, which was the first to block the country. A solution is possible and could be swift, the only requirement being minimum will by delegations of the countries’ ministries of foreign affairs,” the source told BGNES.