The Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Germany - Boyko Borissov, Zoran Zaev and Angela Merkel, welcomed the results achieved by the joint Bulgarian- North Macedonian Presidency of the Berlin Process. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, Western Balkan leaders, French President Emanuel Macron attended the summit in Sofia through a video link. The forum ended with the signing of two important documents for the region - the Declaration on the Common Regional Market and the Declaration on the Green Agenda.

“This will stop people of the Balkans from looking for future abroad,” the Bulgarian Prime Minister said on the occasion of the creation of a Common Regional Market, which will bring countries closer to the common European market and connect economies through free movement of people, goods, services and capital. "Let's not forget that the Western Balkans represent a market of about 20 million people. This will give perspectives to young people who are currently emigrating at a rapid pace and an adequate response to the demographic crisis can be sought," Borissov said.

The overall goal is for the 20 million people in the Balkans to benefit much more, Chancellor Angela Merkel said. She pointed out that there were many positive changes in the Balkans, which started with the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018, when the topic of the European future of the countries of the Western Balkans was brought back on the agenda. The Berlin Process involves efforts to resolve misunderstandings, Merkel said. The German Chancellor focused on education and called on governments to make efforts in this area, urging progress in science and innovation.

With the signed online declaration on the Green Agenda, the countries of the Western Balkans are committed to achieving the goals of the European Green Deal.

The summit in Sofia is the seventh one since the creation of the Berlin Process in 2014, but for the first time in history an EU member state and a country from the Western Balkans are hosts together.

In the framework of the joint hosting of Bulgaria and North Macedonia in 2020, the main priority was to improve connectivity in all aspects: transport, energy, the digital sphere; connectivity between people; bringing young people together, including through education. This is key to making the region stronger and more competitive.

The final summit of the joint Bulgarian-North Macedonian Presidency of the Berlin Process took place against the backdrop of Sofia warnings that it could veto the start of negotiations for North Macedonia's membership in the European Union. On November 6th, Bulgaria announced that it could not support Skopje's negotiating framework with the EU until open neighborly issues were resolved. The question remains whether a breakthrough is possible before November 17, when the General Affairs Council is held, at which Bulgaria must announce whether it imposes a veto, reporter Tonya Dimitrova of BNR’s Horizont Program has informed.

Compiled by: Ivo Ivanov

English: Alexander Markov