FM Zaharieva: North Macedonia will have a place in the EU when it's ready

The Republic of North Macedonia will have a place in the EU when it is ready. At the moment, Bulgaria does not think it is ready, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told BNT. Bulgaria continues to be a supporter of EU enlargement and it is not a matter of wringing hands, Zaharieva said.

The authorities in Skopje very wrongly relied on the expectation that Bulgaria could be "pressed" and change its position, the minister explained. "Then, when the passions subside and you start thinking less emotionally, when they stop sticking to building a state based solely on anti-Bulgarian ideology, then they will get much more," Zaharieva added.