SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
The European Parliament has adopted the Report on North Macedonia’s progress. On Thursday, 508 MEPs voted in favour. Rapporteur Ilhan Kyuchyuk’s document notes continued progress in reforms and asks for a start of negotiations without delay. MEPs said during the debate that if the Union didn’t start the negotiations right away, that would have a negative impact on the support for the EU and leave room for influence of Russia in the region. The adoption of the text was welcomed by North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry. The adopted version, however, includes some of the controversial amendments, such as the ones for “historical reconciliation and joint history” with Bulgaria, as well as an assessment that there is no progress in the implementation of the 2017 Skopje-Sofia deal, which is not a stand of the European Commission in the 2021 Report. The same day, in Sofia, Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi held a meeting with Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov.
