The Bulgarian Parliament voted on Friday 24 June to lift its country’s veto on the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia to the EU, with 170 votes in favour, 37 against and 21 abstentions. It was voting on a French compromise proposal.
Under the compromise, North Macedonia must, among other things, commit to amending its constitution to include Bulgarians as a recognised ethnic group and to “implementing” a 2017 friendship treaty aimed at eradicating hate speech.
The...