Bulgarian President Hints on Referendum on North Macedonia

Vucic, Rumen Radev (BETAPHOTO/SASA DJORDJEVIC/EV)

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has hinted that he might schedule a referendum on Sofia's veto on the start of pre-accession negotiations between North Macedonia and the EU, dismissing reports that he would discuss this issue with French President Emmanuel Macron, it was announced on June 2.

Bulgarian media have reported on the basis of unofficial information that French President Emmanuel Macron had invited Radev and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov to a meeting. Petkov has also denied having received the invitation. France is insisting on the prompt resolving of the dispute between Sofia and Skopje, before the end of its EU Presidency on June 30, but the chances of Bulgaria removing the veto by that time are slim. It is Radev's stance that the veto should not be removed before North Macedonia includes the Bulgarians in its constitution.

"There is no progress between Sofia and Skopje in that regard, so there are no conditions for my visit to Paris," Radev stated. "I appreciate the dedication of our European partners, but I want to see real results," Radev said, adding that definitive decisions were not brought by the parliament, but by the people.

Petkov said earlier that there had been no progress in solving the two countries' dispute and that the veto should be withdrawn by a decision of the parliament. According to Bulgarian law, the president may schedule a referendum by himself, the results of which would be obligatory for the parliament if the legal prerequisites on the election turnout were satisfied. According to opinion polls, 70 percent of the Bulgarians oppose giving any sort of concessions to the Macedonians. Likewise, the majority of the people in North Macedonia is against concessions for Bulgaria.