German Overseas Minister Annalena Baerbock urged North Macedonia’s leaders Thursday to ship on a pledge to amend the structure to hurry up the nation’s path towards European Union membership.
North Macedonia has promised neighboring Bulgaria, an EU member since 2007, so as to add a reference in its structure to the existence of an ethnic Bulgarian minority. In change, Bulgaria would carry objections to the beginning of EU membership talks for North Macedonia. However the modification wants votes in parliament from the conservative opposition, which is publicly against the change.
“Now that the structure should be modified, I can solely encourage you to take action. If you happen to don’t need your younger individuals to go to Europe, you must deliver Europe right here,” Baerbock instructed reporters after talks with North Macedonia’s Overseas Minister Bujar Osmani.
NORTH MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT PLAGUED BY WAVE OF EMAILED BOMB HOAXES
“I do know that the settlement you reached with Bulgaria was not simple for you … and that’s why I can perceive that there’s a debate about it, particularly on the subject of one’s personal identification, historical past, language and tradition,” she mentioned.
On her go to to the capital, Skopje, Baerbock additionally met with North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski and Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski.
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North Macedonia and neighboring Albania have been candidate nations since 2005 and launched membership negotiations with the EU final yr in a course of anticipated to take years.
Disputes with neighbors have held up accession talks. A spat with Greece over the usage of the identify Macedonia and the area’s historical heritage lasted a long time.
The newest dispute between North Macedonia and Bulgaria can be centered round Macedonian identification, in addition to historical past, language, and tradition.
The constitutional modification requires a two-thirds majority within the 120-seat parliament, or 80 votes. However the governing coalition led by the center-left Social Democrats is barely backed by 64 lawmakers.
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