Eurasia Press & News
At the initiative of the MEP from the Group of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Evgeni Kirilov, Bulgarian MEPs (representatives of all political parties – Bulgarian Socialist Party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, Blue Coalition, National Movement for Stability and Progress, Movement for Rights andFreedoms, Ataka) meet with European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, the press service of the Bulgarian socialists in the European Parliament announced.
The major topic of the meeting was the challenges faced by Macedonia on its way to European integration.
In the frames of the one-hour meeting, the MEPs and the European Commission examined a series of topical issues connected to Bulgaria-Macedonia bilateral relations, as well as the perspectives for European integration, observation of human rights of people with Bulgarian awareness and of the Copenhagen criteria by Skopje.
European Commissioner Fule heard the positions of the MEPs and expressed his concern on the presented issues, saying that he will continue following the development of Macedonia’s relations with its neighboring countries. Fule found it important that MEPs from all political groups hold one and the same position on these issues, connected to Macedonia’s integration in the EU.
“It is very important to know that the purpose of our meeting (with European Commissioner Fule) is not to cause harm to Macedonia but just on contrary – to lay the groundwork of European standards in the good neighborly relations and observation of human rights,” MEP Evgeni Kirilov said after the meeting.
“We, as Bulgarians, want to make it clear that Bulgaria will not tolerate cases like Spaska Mitrova, where we see violation of the human rights and it will protect its national interests,” MEP Nadezhda Neynski said.
European Commissioner Fule, on his part, said that he will not tolerate such phenomena.
In his words, the name dispute is not Macedonia’s only problem and when the real EU accession talks begin, he will have bigger set of instruments to exert influence. The European Commissioner welcomed the political consensus in Bulgaria over Macedonia’s European integration.
