Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Bulgaria's position on the European integration of Republic of North Macedonia remains unchanged

The Council of Ministers approved the position of Bulgaria to participate in the meeting of the General Affairs Council, which will be held on June 22, 2021 in Luxembourg.

The Council will exchange views on EU enlargement policy and the Stabilization and Association Process and will prepare for the extraordinary European Council meeting of 24-25 June 2021, including the topics on COVID-19, economic recovery, external aspects of migration, EC-Russia relations, current developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and EU-Turkey relations.

The part on the EU enlargement policy and the European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia in the position adopted by the government states that Bulgaria adheres to the Declaration of the National Assembly of October 10, 2019 and the Framework Position on the European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted by the Council of Ministers on October 9, 2019.

Bulgaria's position regarding the negotiating framework and the holding of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with the Republic of North Macedonia remains unchanged. The negotiating framework for the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU should contain the necessary guarantees regarding the implementation of the 2017 Treaty. They do not currently exist. The requirements for conducting the IGC have not been met either. At the same time, Bulgaria remains open to dialogue and is taking steps to build trust and return to a pragmatic and constructive dialogue.

Regarding the various aspects of countering the COVID-19 pandemic, ministers will review the epidemic situation and the current state of the vaccination process, discuss preparations for the implementation of the EU COVID-19 digital certificate, and more.

The Council will review the state of play of the implementation of the EU's Next Generation Instrument, as well as the Council Recommendation on the economic policy of the euro zone countries.

The Presidency of the Council of the EU will brief ministers on the latest developments related to the Conference on the Future of Europe in the context of the forthcoming first plenary session on 19 June 2021.

Ministers will be briefed on current developments in EU-Switzerland relations.