Bulgaria adopted four conditions for Macedonia’s EU accession – effective implementation of the Good Neighborly Agreement, guarantee of the rights of Bulgarians in Macedonia through their inclusion in the Constitution as a nation-building, that nothing in Macedonia’s accession process will be interpreted as recognition of the Macedonian language by Bulgaria, and European guarantees that the Bulgarian conditions will be met. Today, the National Assembly of Bulgaria, after several re-votes, with 170 votes “for”, 37 “against” and 21 abstentions approved the French proposal for Macedonia.

This decision was supported by the MPs from “Change Continues”, GERB-SDS, DPS and “Democratic Bulgaria” (DB). “There is such a people” (ITN) and “Revival” are against, and “BSP for Bulgaria” abstained.

Lawmakers debated for hours on the French presidency’s proposal for an EU negotiating framework for Macedonia and Albania, with opponents of the idea of lifting the veto – the “Revival” and “There is such a people” reiterating the thesis of national unity.

BSP requested that the decision be postponed until all the details of the document have been carefully considered. They felt that it would take weeks and months before a decision could be made and that it would be better to wait or stabilize the political situation in the country, or elect a new parliament that would have the legitimacy to decide on the issue.