Bulgaria Opens Door to Unblocking Balkan EU Accession Talks
- Lawmakers let premier lift an accession veto under conditions
- Bulgaria has blocked neighbor in clash over history, language
The Bulgarian Parliament building in Sofia.
Photographer: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Bulgaria approved a mechanism aimed at unblocking the European Union’s enlargement plan in the Balkans, although it has already met with rejection from its neighbor North Macedonia.
Lawmakers voted 170-37 on Friday, giving outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s government a mandate to approve an EU proposal to start negotiations with North Macedonia. If those talks happen, the EU may also start deliberations with Albania, another candidate.