Sali in Bratislava: Dialogue With Bulgaria, but an EU Path "On Merit"
North Macedonia's first deputy PM met Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár; Slovakia remains among the capitals pushing enlargement up the EU's agenda.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs Bekim Sali met Slovakia's foreign and European affairs minister, Juraj Blanár, during a visit to Bratislava. According to a statement from the Ministry for European Affairs, the meeting confirmed "excellent relations" between the two countries and Slovakia's continued support for North Macedonia's and the Western Balkans' European perspective.
Sali said the country "remains committed to a constructive dialogue with Bulgaria and to building durable good-neighbourly relations," stressing that the EU accession process must deliver predictability and certainty: obligations fulfilled should translate into concrete progress toward the next stages of negotiations.
A Council Channel, Not a Bilateral Peace
Slovakia sits among the member states keeping enlargement high on the EU's agenda, but its support flows through the Council, not through direct mediation between Skopje and Sofia. For Skopje, the Bratislava meeting confirms an ally inside the negotiating process — not a breakthrough in the bilateral dispute with Bulgaria, which remains unresolved regardless of the pace of the European agenda.
The two halves of Sali's message matter together: dialogue with Bulgaria, and progress "on merit." Taken apart, the first sounds like soft diplomatic language and the second like a party slogan; together, they describe the position Skopje has held for some time in its talks with Brussels.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · September 12, 2026