Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov believes that a potential solution for the name dispute between Greece and Macedonia must not be allowed to create problems with neighboring countries. According to Mitov, Greece has the political will to find a solution over the dispute, but their formula for solving the problem so far has proved unsuccessful.
Mr Mitov in an interview with the Greek daily newspaper “To Vima” says he hopes that there is will on the Macedonian side as well, noting that necessary compromises will have to made in order to find a solution to the problem.
“It will take compromises, but the formula over the name dispute that will be found, should solve the problem permanently, without creating additional problems for other neighboring countries. Skopje should implement reforms. We believe that the intervention of the European Commission in order to meet the Copenhagen criteria and research the wire tapping cases is a positive step”, says Mitov to “To Vima”.
He notes that for Sofia and Athens, the integration of the countries in the Balkans into NATO and the EU remains a priority, and that the EU would not be complete without welcoming the Western Balkans into the European family.
Even so, according to him the EU must allow itself to consult with all three countries of the South-East part of Europe who are already EU member states – Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. When deciding on the next steps for the integration of the Balkans into the EU, all three countries should be called during talks. With this statement, Mitov indirectly criticizes Germany for refusing for two years to call these three states of the Western Balkans to the summit in Berlin.
“Regarding the process of Berlin, our positions should all be compatible and in cooperation with EU institutions. I’m sure there were objectives were noble behind this process, but this issue can not be complete without the presence of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. Many think that the Balkans are a problematic region with many troubles, and that the Balkan states can not resolve them. But if we use Greece and Bulgaria as an example, and our communication with each other, we may find that we are in a position to find a solution”, adds Daniel Mitov.
