Bulgaria welcomes North Macedonia’s accession to Nato
Bulgaria welcomes the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia as a full member of Nato, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said.
“This
historic act, together with the expected start of EU accession
negotiations, will make the country a credible ally with a
contribution to the security and democratic progress of the region
and the Euro-Atlantic area,” Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry
said.
This is also an important event for Nato, for its
efforts to expand the area of security and stability and to
realize the vision born in 1989 to build a united, free and peaceful
Europe. It also sends a strong signal to other candidate countries on
the continuation of Nato’s open door policy and the importance of
efforts to implement internal reforms and preparation for membership,
the statement said.
The accession of the Republic of North
Macedonia to Nato is a special moment for Bulgaria as well, the
Foreign Ministry said.
“It is a success for our consistent policy in support of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region, and the expansion of the area of security, stability, shared values and prosperity around our borders.
“Our southwestern neighbour assumes its share of the responsibilities and obligations stemming from membership, including collective security and defence. Its membership in the North Atlantic Alliance gives a new dimension to our allied security and defence relations, while addressing global and regional problems and challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area.”
Bulgaria
expects the joint activities between its armed forces within Nato to
contribute both to the development of defence capabilities and
interoperability, as well as to help overcome the stereotypes and
prejudices towards Bulgaria that have been historically imposed on
society, the statement said.
Formal accession to Nato does not
mean the end of efforts to carry out internal reforms and democratic
transformation of the country, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said.
“We will continue to look for results in strengthening the rule of law, freedom of the media, reforming the security sector, especially with regard to the transformation of special services and the complete breaking of ties to the totalitarian past, bringing the armed forces into line with Nato standards, and concrete steps for the good faith implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Neighbourliness and Co-operation in such a way as to guarantee its irreversibility.”
