Bulgaria’s National Assembly gave a mandate to the cabinet to approve the French proposal for Macedonia. This is the first step towards getting the green light to lift the veto and start negotiations between  Macedonia and the EU. Bulgaria adopted four conditions for Macedonia’s entry into the Union – 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.

MPs adopted the French proposal with 170 votes for 37 against, and 21 abstentions. The topic was set as the first item on the agenda of the National Assembly at Friday’s session. The proposal must now be accepted by the Council of Ministers, which will forward it to Brussels.