Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

North Macedonia risks being separated from Albania on the way to the EU, Ilhan Kyuchyuk says

Ilhan Kyuchyuk
Photo: BGNES

“Without reforms North Macedonia cannot open substantive negotiations on accession to the EU. Including Bulgarians and other peoples in the constitution is part of the European offer. It has been accepted by Sofia and Skopje in advance, no one is setting down new conditions,” Ilhan Kyuchyuk, co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe said in an interview with BGNES. “An arduous debate on the constitutional changes needs to be started in Macedonian society. As rapporteur of the European Parliament I gave the political time needed so this can take place,” Ilhan Kyuchyuk said and went on to warn that North Macedonia could be separated from Albania in the process of European integration.

Two countries have to be convinced of Bulgaria’s membership of the Schengen area, Ilhan Kyuchyuk stated further. “Austria has a problem with the way the Schengen system is functioning, whereas the Netherlands has specific expectations in the conditions of a caretaker government.”

He also called for Bulgaria to work actively so that “the Black Sea shall be a zone in which NATO and the EU have the say.”



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Fourth no-confidence motion against Rosen Zhelyazkov’s cabinet to be voted on Friday

On Friday, the National Assembly will vote on a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov over ''failures in environmental and water policy''. The fourth no-confidence motion against the current government was tabled..

published on 7/9/25 6:09 PM

Albania's National Assembly Speaker Elisa Spiropali visits Bulgaria

The Speaker of the   Parliament of  Albania, Elisa Spiropali, has arrived in Bulgaria for an official visit. The two-day visit is at the invitation of National Assembly Speaker Natalia Kiselova . Elisa Spiropali was welcomed at the airport by the..

published on 7/9/25 5:48 PM

National Assembly reduces tuition fees at first reading

Tuition fees at state universities should not exceed 75% of the expenses for the training. This was what MPs decided with amendments to the Higher Education Act adopted on Wednesday at first reading. It is expected that after the..

published on 7/9/25 4:08 PM