Skopje, 6 May 2022 (MIA) – German Ambassador Anke Holstein on Friday called for a solution to be found to the dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria that is acceptable for both countries. Noting that France has a leading role in the EU as it holds the presidency, Holstein said the country should help in seeking solution favorable for both North Macedonia and Bulgaria. The EU enlargement policy now more than ever is also a security policy, she said alongside Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, who visited Markart, a German automotive company located near Veles. Asked for a comment, PM Kovachevski said his position is almost identical to that of President Stevo Pendarovski, who has said VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski is right when saying his party won’t support amendments to the Constitution to include Macedonian Bulgarian unless there are guarantees from Sofia that there will be no more conditions. An overall solution should be reached with Bulgaria to close all open issues, which will pave the way for lifting Sofia’s veto to the opening of membership negotiations, he reiterated. Kovachevski called himself a rational optimist when asked whether he was optimistic that the dispute with Bulgaria could be solved by June.