North Macedonian Parliament Supports France's Proposal For Agreement With Bulgaria

Lawmakers of the ruling coalition in North Macedonia, led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia party, supported on Saturday France's proposal for an agreement with Bulgaria in order to start negotiations on joining the European Union

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2022) Lawmakers of the ruling coalition in North Macedonia, led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia party, supported on Saturday France's proposal for an agreement with Bulgaria in order to start negotiations on joining the European Union.

Sixty-eight out of 120 lawmakers of the country's parliament voted for the proposal of France. Supporters of the opposition movements VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization � Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity), and the Levica party left the meeting room and did not participate in the voting. The government has now received approval to negotiate with the EU and Bulgaria under the proposed document.

Mass protests have been held in Skopje and other cities of the country for 11 days over the proposal. According to the opposition and protesters, the document violates the national, cultural, and historical rights and interests of the Macedonians. At the same time, the parliament of North Macedonia spent three days discussing the proposal.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, arrived on Thursday in the North Macedonian capital of Skopje and held meetings with North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, and Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani to discuss joining the EU.