Petkov: Introduction of 5 Working Groups in Negotiations with Skopje

Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov says in an interview for Bloomberg that very soon his administration will end the uncertainty concerning the start of the EU accession talks with North Macedonia. “I would like to create with my potential counterpart Dimitar Kovacevski a different atmosphere and framework for the negotiations over the bilateral disputes between our two countries. This is why we want to introduce five new working groups as part of the negotiations, which will focus on different topics: infrastructure, economy, cultural exchange, EU integration and historical affairs. These groups will have to work very efficiently in the following 6 months in order for there to be progress in the negotiations. By the way we will achieve progress in these five areas, we will be more certain about the date when the accession talks between Brussels and Skopje are open,” Petkov said for Bloomberg. Petkov is to pay an official visit to Skopje on 18 January, when he will meet PM-designate Dimitar Kovacevski and discuss the open issues between the two countries and the EU-integration of North Macedonia.