November 9 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's foreign ministry said that the country has informed the European Commission that it cannot accept the proposed negotiating framework for North Macedonia because it does not provide the necessary guarantees that the conditions set by Bulgaria will be met.
The proposal to include Bulgaria's conditions in a EU Council declaration accompanying the negotiating framework is unacceptable because the document will not be legally binding, and thus will not guarantee the conditions are fulfilled, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Bulgaria insists that its conditions are included in the negotiating framework, so it has sufficient guarantees they will be met.
It is still possible that the issue can be resolved despite the tight deadlines, the ministry noted.
Representatives of the two countries are due to meet at a summit within the Berlin Process on November 10 in Sofia. The Berlin Process is an initiative aimed at stepping up regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and aiding the integration of these countries into the European Union.