North Macedonia: EU’s Borrell seeks progress on accession

European Union officials on Friday said North Macedonia had made progress towards joining the bloc, but urged political leaders to adopt the promised constitutional amendments needed to move the process further.

North Macedonia has promised neighboring Bulgaria to include a reference to the existence of the Bulgarian ethnic minority in its constitution. But the conservative opposition does not support a move that would require him to have a two-thirds majority in Congress.

“Moving forward also means improving relations with our neighbors, including creating the conditions for adopting constitutional amendments. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting with Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski.

Borrell traveled the region with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Valhey, and also visited fellow candidate Albania. On Saturday, he will travel to the North Macedonian lakeside town of Ohrid to chair new talks between Serbia and Kosovo. Kovachevski said his government’s goal is for North Macedonia to achieve full bloc accession to her by 2030. [AP]