Austria Offers Itself as Mediator between Macedonia and Bulgaria

The Austrian Minister for Europe and the Constitution, Karoline Edshtadler, during her visit to Skopje on Tuesday after meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Nikola Dimitrov, in a press conference said that Austria offers to be a mediator in overcoming the dispute between Macedonia and Bulgaria for unblocking the European perspective of our country, reported Zhurnal on Wednesday.
As she says, the integration of North Macedonia must be accelerated and given perspective.
“I want to emphasize Austria’s offer to be a mediator in the dispute with Bulgaria. Now we are talking about nothing less than our future. Now that May 9 – Europe Day – is approaching, let us include the countries of the Western Balkans in the dialogue. Accelerate integration and give perspective. For this, Austria wants as a partner of the countries from the Western Balkans to play this role, knowing that at the European level some things need to be completed for the dialogue to continue,” said Edshtadeler.
Dimitrov said his promises were based on Brussels’ promises and that the upcoming elections should not be an obstacle to overcoming the blockade by Bulgaria.
“There will be local elections here, in Bulgaria in November there will be presidential elections. I think we have no right to give up earlier. Many EU member states feel and understand that it is high time this year to have serious moves towards improving the European idea in our region. It is very difficult if the case of Macedonia is not recognized and confirmed through the intergovernmental conference. The region needs success this year,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov.
Edshtadler added that North Macedonia will not lag behind Albania when it comes to getting a date for negotiations. She added that Macedonia has prevented a total of 52,000 illegal migrants from crossing the EU without permission and reminded that Skopje will receive a total of 120,000 Pfizer vaccines as a donation from Brussels.