The Czech Republic takes the presidency of the EU, Kovacevski: We are considering the French proposal!

At the top of the list, Prague will have Ukraine. After Poland, the Czech Republic is the EU country that supports Kiev the most, where it has sent weapons, including tanks, and sheltered 350,000 Ukrainian refugees. With this in mind, official Paris hastened to comply with Skopje’s request to modify its proposal on the last day of the French presidency, as requested by the Macedonian side, accepting some of its remarks.

Reaching an agreement now on this document would pave the way for the unblocking of the European integration process. Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, when asked about the details of the new French proposal, said they would be known in the coming days, but added that the historical aspects – one of the most sensitive issues in the dispute with Sofia – would not be part of the negotiating framework for EU membership.

Kovacevski: We have now officially received the French proposal after our intervention last week in Brussels. The proposal will be published after passing all the filters in the institutions. It would follow a wide process in which the president and the opposition will be involved.

Kovacevski called on the public to refrain from speculation, as he said, the decision will be adopted constructively and will protect national interests. A series of meetings and consultations regarding the proposal are scheduled today, which will then be published in full on the government’s website.

EU member Bulgaria had refused to approve the membership negotiation framework for North Macedonia, due to disputes over history and language. But Bulgarian lawmakers voted to allow the government to override its veto following changes to the framework text that would guarantee the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia through constitutional changes and commit Skopje to maintaining good relations with Bulgaria.

top channel