"We are not setting deadlines. We are expecting results. Any attempts to put pressure on Bulgaria with regard to North Macedonia are counterproductive and slow the process down, and this should be understood by everyone",  Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev told Bulgarian journalists in Brussels. 

President Radev arrived in Brussels to participate at the Eastern Partnership Summit and the European Council meeting. “I have spoken with all European leaders and leaders of European institutions on this topic since May. I would like to thank them, because for the second time this year, the enlargement topic is off the agenda. Our European partners have understood where the real problem lies”, President Radev said. In his words, the problem goes beyond the notion of a historic dispute between two neighboring countries and concerns “the EU’s foundations, values and principles- human rights and non-discrimination”.