Sofia, 26 July 2021 (MIA) – Bulgaria is the strongest supporter of EU enlargement, but it cannot allow violation of the rights of citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia with Bulgarian self-awareness, said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev during a meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen in Salzburg on Monday. Radev and Van der Bellen stressed that the European integration of the countries in the region is in the interest of the stability and economic development of Europe, MIA’s Sofia correspondent reports. Presdient Radev highlighted Bulgaria’s consistent and principled support for the region’s EU perspective. However, according to him, that perspective should not be limited only to formal stages in the accession process and should not harm the interests of the Union’s member states and its values. As regards achieving progress in North Macedonia’s European integration, Bulgaria’s head of state said clear political will is expected from the neighboring country for the implementation of the Treaty on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between the two countries, signed in 2017. Radev and Van der Bellen particularly focused on discussing the topic of the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans. Radev pointed out that “although in Skopje they claim that they meet the accession criteria, we’re still witnessing a systematic violation of the rights of citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia of Bulgarian origin and their discrimination, there’s still hate speech towards Bulgaria in the textbooks and in public.” According to the Bulgarian President, the progress and resolution of these issues depend exclusively on the policies of the Republic of North Macedonia, with which Bulgaria has repeatedly expressed readiness to conduct a constructive and open dialogue. According to Radev, this is the way to create a climate of trust and to achieve concrete and irreversible results that will lead to start of EU accession negotiations. During the meeting in Salzburg, the Bulgarian President underlined that within the Slovenian EU Presidency, his country is ready to work towards making progress on sensitive topics and finding solutions acceptable to both countries. In addition, Radev pointed out that bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Austria are at an excellent level with intensive political dialogue, including within the framework of constructive cooperation on topics from the European and international agenda. In 2020, trade between Bulgaria and Austria stood at EUR 1.358 billion, while Austrian investments in Bulgaria stood at EUR 319.2 million. President Radev noted that Bulgaria encourages Austrian companies to make new investments or increase existing ones in priority areas, including medical and laboratory supplies, organic farming, infrastructure projects, mechanical engineering and electronics.