Okt 3, 2023. Posted by Balkan Periscope - Hellas
A meeting
of the expert working groups of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
and the Republic of North Macedonia took place on October 2 in Skopje, the
Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on its website.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged information on the progress of the implementation of the commitments undertaken under the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation, and the Protocols of the meetings of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission held under Article 12 of the Treaty.
During the
talks, special attention was paid to the main themes of the bilateral political
dialogue, the activities to deepen inter-institutional cooperation and
communication, with a view to consolidating mutual trust, the statement said.
On August
1, 2017, a Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation between
the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia was signed, which
entered into force through the exchange of instruments of ratification between
the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on February 14, 2018, recalls the information
on bilateral relations on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 24 June
2022, the 47th National Assembly decided to support the opening of the path for
the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU. By its decision, it
gave a mandate to the Council of Ministers to approve the Negotiating Framework
for the Republic of North Macedonia and the Council Conclusions proposed by the
French Presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as to sign the Protocol of
the Second Meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission under Article 12
of the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation. A key
issue for Bulgaria is also the guarantee of the rights of the Bulgarians in the
Republic of North Macedonia, including through the implementation of their
legitimate demand for inclusion in the Constitution on an equal footing with
the other peoples in the country, the information notes.
The second
meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Article 12 of the Treaty,
held on 17 July last year in Sofia, reviewed the implementation of the Treaty
and adopted measures and actions for the next period. The results of the
meeting are set out in the Minutes.
Bulgaria
remains among the most active supporters of the European integration of the
Western Balkans, including the Republic of North Macedonia, the information on
the Foreign Ministry's website further notes.
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