Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev announced that he will sign the prepared cooperation agreement with Ukraine only if it receives approval from the National Assembly. He made this clarification to Bulgarian journalists in Brussels, where he arrived to participate in the EU-Western Balkans meeting and tomorrow's meeting of the European Council, BTA reports.
„If there is a majority in the National Assembly, I will sign. This is the meaning of the letter sent today. I consider it normal for a caretaker government, and regularly, to consult with members of parliament about what it is doing. I have no concerns about the agreement. It is legally non-binding and political, it does not fall within the scope of treaties that are subject to ratification by the National Assembly. "The only thing that worries me is the 10-year term," the prime minister explained.
"We are in contact with the Ukrainian side, they said they are understanding. If the National Assembly does not take a position, I will not sign it," he added. Glavchev stressed that the agreement has not yet been signed by six EU member states and that it does not have legal consequences, but is in the nature of a political declaration. "It could always be withdrawn by a regular government," he said. According to him, it would not be fatal if the signing were left to a regular government.
“We have such a caretaker government that signed a long-term contract and we are still taking the blame“, said the Prime Minister.
Regarding his conversation earlier this week with European Council President António Costa, the Prime Minister pointed out that many issues were discussed, including the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans. “I said that we have long shown our attitudes towards the Western Balkans - we support the enlargement to the Western Balkans, this is a geopolitical issue, only the conditions must be met“, he stressed. “For North Macedonia, you know what the conditions are - we have a compromise from 2022, a compromise on our part“, the Prime Minister added. He noted that this compromise has been approved by all EU countries and North Macedonia. “There is nothing to negotiate, our position is unchanged“, Glavchev concluded.