Bulgaria cannot change its positions, its Parliament has adopted a declaration and the government a decision. What’s being said within the EU is the bloc’s problem, here it isn’t our problem, Bulgarian Ambassador to Macedonia Angel Angelov said Wednesday, answering a reporter’s question after the working breakfast at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized within the Macedonian-Bulgarian presidency of the Berlin Process on whether Sofia will change positions regarding the negotiating framework for Macedonia contained in the explanatory memorandum in which, among other things, the Macedonian language and nation are disputed, and which today is on the agenda of COREPER – the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Brussels.

Asked if there would be a Bulgarian veto on the first intergovernmental conference by the end of the year if the two countries’ historians in the Joint Commission fail to reach an agreement on outstanding issues, the Bulgarian ambassador avoided the question, saying today’s meeting focused on the Berlin process.

We are now focused on completing the Berlin Process and showing the whole of Europe that we can complete something successful together, said the Bulgarian ambassador.

As to where Bulgaria sees territorial claims in the Prespa Agreement from the Macedonian side with the application of the short name of the country, Ambassador Angelov again avoided answering, pointing out that today’s meeting is in the context of the Berlin process which, he says, is very important and should help build trust between our two countries.

We have great expectations that the Berlin Process will bring closer the administrations of the two countries because as co-chairs we expect results from the meetings of the Ministers of Interior through the Ministers of Social Protection, the Ministers of Health and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The two administrations had to work together. Covid happened and it changed the plans, but despite that I think that in the end we will be able to achieve some results that will be visible and will contribute to the region and its EU path, said Angelov.