Bulgarian President Rumen Radev had another meeting with representatives of ethnic Bulgarians from Macedonia, and again underlined his demand that Macedonia includes them in its Constitution. It’s a second such meeting Radev held in months and it included representatives from cultural organizations and the GDU party.

We highly value your opinions on how (North) Macedonia can more quickly achieve EU membership. Since our last meeting there were significant changes, and besides the steps planned in the economy, tourism and elsewhere, there also needs to be a clear timeline to resolve t he open political issues. I want the inclusion of the Macedonian Bulgarians in the Constitution to be an obligatory condition to receive approval from Bulgaria to open EU accession talks. This is not interference by Bulgaria in the internal affairs of Macedonia, it’s a statement of concern for the Republic of (North) Macedonia and its path to EU membership, Radev said.