Scholz promotes North Macedonia's EU accession

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that he strongly supports the start of European Union accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

Speaking during a visit to Bulgaria, the final stop of his two-day tour to the Western Balkans, Scholz voiced optimism that progress will be made before the close of the French EU presidency at the end of June.

The German Chancellor visited North Macedonia on Saturday before heading to Sofia in a bid to resolve the dispute between both countries that has seen EU membership talks with both North Macedonia and Albania blocked.

Bulgaria refuses to approve the EU’s membership negotiation framework for North Macedonia, effectively blocking the official start of accession talks with its smaller Balkan neighbour.

Bulgaria insists North Macedonia must formally recognise that its language has Bulgarian roots, to mention a Bulgarian minority in its constitution and to stamp out allegedly anti-Bulgarian rhetoric.

North Macedonia says its identity and language aren't open for discussion and that the solution must be based on European values.

After issuing his support for North Macedonia and Albania's European accession bid hours before in the North Macedonia capital of Skopje, Scholz reiterated his backing during a conference in Sofia.

Speaking alongside Bulgarian Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, Scholz said it was not easy to overcome the historical differences between the two Balkan neighbours.

"Our historical experience shows that this is enriching for all countries when mistrust is overcome and friendly relations with neighbours are built," he said.

“Bulgaria has three main priorities, about which the EU must be part of the guarantees, so that we can move forward - through the European process, to ensure the inclusion of Bulgarians in the constitution of North Macedonia,” Petkov said.

“At the same time, we have a framework position and a good-neighbourliness agreement. So, each decision must include these three priorities,” he said and added that the EU can provide potential opportunities to have European guarantees that this will happen.

North Macedonia applied for EU membership in 2004 and received a positive assessment from the European Commission a year later.