For Macedonians in (North) Macedonia, we are Macedonians who speak the Macedonian language, and frankly if this is an obstacle to starting accession talks, I am fine with not starting accession talks. This makes the European Union less European, said Zaev’s Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Dimitrov, in another display of pre-election patriotism.

Dimitrov has an interview with the European Western Balkans site in which he discusses the state of EU integration, now that Macedonia is firmly blocked by Bulgaria.

Unlike the former rosy and optimistic announcements, Dimitrov now refuses to even speculate when Macedonia could expect to become a member of the European Union and warns about growing animosity between Macedonians and Bulgarians because of the veto.

The impasse is damaging – the latest polls show that it has a very negative impact on the views of Macedonian citizens towards Bulgaria. Over 40% see it as a big problem, there will be animosity, and I think that this is a lose-lose dynamic. So, with political will and leadership, I think we can find an European solution that would be good for Macedonian-Bulgarian friendship, so it will be good for the European promise for the region, for (North) Macedonia and Albania definitely, Dimitrov says.