Bulgaria Is Only Hurdle in North Macedonia’s EU Path, Zaev Says

(Bloomberg) -- North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said there was no progress in talks with Bulgaria, which is blocking the start of its neighbor’s accession talks with the European Union.

“We came here for a message from European Union members that the enlargement would continue,” Zaev told reporters at an EU summit in Brdo, Slovenia, on Wednesday. “We are sorry that one country, only one of the 27 member states, is blocking the process for North Macedonia.”

North Macedonia’s progress toward membership has been held up by EU-member Bulgaria over the name and origin of the country’s language and the two nations’ shared history. The former Yugoslav republic asked to join the bloc in 2005. The country has since forged a power-sharing agreement and resolved a long-standing dispute with Greece over its name in 2019, gaining NATO membership.

Zaev said he hoped a solution would be found before the end of the year, following a general election scheduled in Bulgaria. 

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