Renowned German journalist Michael Martens, who has been a FAZ correspondent for the Balkans for 25 years, after his visit to Bulgaria, draws several conclusions about what will happen to the Bulgarian-Macedonian dispute.
As the most important conclusion, he states that Sofia will not lift the veto on Macedonia any time soon. As a second conclusion, Martens cites the fact that Bulgaria uses as its argument the long-standing blockade of Greece for Macedonia’s membership in NATO. According to him, early elections in Bulgaria are very likely.
He also believes that should the EU try to pressure Sofia into doing so, this could backfire.
And we can see the most important conclusion reached by the German journalist that the dispute between Bulgaria and Macedonia is not about who is right, but who is more powerful.
After a week of interesting talks in Sofia, I returnhome with the impression that Bulgaria will not lift its veto against North Macedonia any time soon. More importantly: Should the EU and its major capitals try to pressure Sofia into doing so, this could backfire.
— Michael Martens (@Andric1961) June 20, 2022
While international media point out that Bulgaria is acting from a position of power, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani say they will not comment on the French proposal until it is approved by all 26 EU member states.
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