EC is Preparing a Roadmap to Solve the Issues between Bulgaria and North Macedonia

The European Commission is preparing a roadmap to present the practical steps towards solving the problems between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM).

This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the press conference after the meeting of the European Council in Slovenia.

"The EC is working hard to identify the major problems in the bilateral issues of Bulgaria and the RNM and to prepare a roadmap so that there are practical steps to solve the problems," she said.

The vast majority of EU member states support the accession of RNM and Albania, the president assured.

This part of her statement was in response to a question from a journalist who stated that the post-European Council declaration did not set a deadline or at least a timetable with specific phases for the accession of Western Balkan countries.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel also spoke at the press conference. , the economy and others.

Most of the journalists' questions were on a topic that was discussed at an informal dinner on October 5th, without being commented on by the leaders of the member states - the gas crisis.

Von der Layen reiterated his statement in the morning - the rise in prices is not observed in renewables, which is a clear sign that the EU needs to invest even more in the green transition. In this way, the union would also increase its independence, as 90 percent of the gas was imported.

Charles Michel confirmed that at the next meeting of the European Council (October 21-22) the European Commission will have already presented a strategy to combat the gas crisis, hinting that it will be "European", ie - supranational.

Asked directly how much the price jump was due to Gazprom's actions, the EU president flatly refused to blame Russia alone and gave other reasons as examples - the long winter, the growth of demand in China, Norway's refusal to increase supplies and others. .

Both European leaders have said the source of the crisis is yet to be sought and have repeatedly called for the "whole picture" to be looked at.

A word on the topic discussed at the press conference was whether the EU's intention to build a common defense would not harm relations with the United States.

"Strategic autonomy is an important term and can lead to misunderstandings," Michelle said, noting that it was the desire to avoid misconceptions among member states that led to this being the theme of an informal dinner on October 5th.

Michel and Von der Layen stressed that the EU does not aim to compete with NATO and that whatever reform is undertaken will not lead to the creation of a "military alliance" between member states.

/ClubZ

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