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© Associated Press
A tragedy caused by internal reasons: this is how the former Secretary of State of the United States, Madeleine Albright, defined the Bulgarian veto on the negotiations for the accession of North Macedonia to the EU. She commented on this during a meeting of the Foreign Relations Commission of the United States Congress.
The question posed by the future chairman of the commission, Democrat Gregory Meeks, read as follows: “Bulgaria is blocking North Macedonia on ethnic and linguistic grounds, following Greek name considerations. Bulgaria is questioning the Macedonian identity and language. How can the Biden-Harris administration work with our allies in Brussels to ensure that the neighbors of the Western Balkan countries hoping to join the EU do not keep them in the waiting room. “
I have been working for so long in the name of what is now called “North Macedonia”. When I was at the UN, we called it FYROM, the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, and nobody knew what we were talking about. it was very hard work, “Albright replied.” In many ways, it is a tragedy that Bulgarians, for their own internal reasons, are doing this now. This question needs to be posed (to America’s allies in Brussels): How do they fulfill their obligations as a member state? which is a very important issue that undermines our overall efforts in the Balkans: to achieve economic and political cooperation. “
In another part of his speech, Albright stressed the importance of the prospect of EU accession to the Western Balkans and that the Joe Biden administration understands how important this region is to American interests.
“Corruption remains a serious problem and nationalist leaders continue to inflame and exploit ethnic tensions. China and Russia are also exerting new influence, and Serbia in particular is the target of much anti-Western propaganda,” he said. “We have to attack rampant corruption, which paralyzes political institutions and undermines the rule of law in the region. Leaders of all countries seem to accept political office as an opportunity to stay in power; addressing the so-called state kidnapping must be a priority. ” “and the eradication of these influences.”
