SKOPJE, North Macedonia: European Council President António Costa on Thursday called on North Macedonia to change its constitution to include protections for its Bulgarian minority as a way for the country to continue its path toward full European Union membership.
The EU started membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia in 2022, as the war in Ukraine forced a rethink of the bloc’s enlargement process.
North Macedonia’s bid was delayed by a dispute with Bulgaria over Balkan history, language and culture. To break the impasse, North Macedonia’s previous center-left government accepted a Bulgarian demand to insert a reference to the Bulgarian ethnic minority in North Macedonia’s constitution. However, that administration lacked the parliamentary majority to implement the change.
Costa said that the small Balkan country should now deliver what was previously agreed upon.
“I know how difficult it is to achieve. Now is the time to conclude the whole thing and open a new page,” Costa told reporters at a news conference in the North Macedonian capital, Skopje, alongside the country’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
Mickoski, for his part, said the bloc’s enlargement must be based on merits, not bilateral issues. His conservative government, which came to power last year, has said it will only amend the constitution if Bulgaria first approves North Macedonia’s EU membership.
“We have a problem, and it should be a two-way street. If only one side delivers, it is not realistic,” he said.
Costa is visiting six Western Balkan countries, which are at different stages on their path to full EU membership. Montenegro and Albania have been at the forefront while Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia are lagging behind.
In Tirana, his last stop of the regional tour, Costa hailed Albania for being “on track to join the European Union.”
“Keeping up the pace and intensifying work on European Union reforms is now key, particularly rule of law and fight against corruption,” said Costa at a news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Rama’s Socialist Party says it can deliver EU membership in five years, an ambitious pledge as he confronts an opposition that argues Albania isn’t ready for EU membership.
In Tirana, Costa will co-host the European Political Community, a forum that gathers 47 European leaders with the aim of boosting security and prosperity across the continent.
North Macedonia’s path toward full EU membership stalled by impasse with Bulgaria
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North Macedonia’s path toward full EU membership stalled by impasse with Bulgaria
- Change constitution to include protections for Bulgarian minority to be able to get full EU membership, North Macedonia told
Indian PM calls deadly Delhi blast ‘conspiracy’
- Explosion in Delhi near Red Fort killed at least eight, wounded 19 on Monday evening
- Indian police official says investigating blast in capital under anti-terrorism laws
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital that killed at least eight people a “conspiracy,” vowing those responsible will face justice.
Police are yet to give exact details of what caused Monday’s blast near the historic Red Fort, one of India’s most well-known landmarks, and the site of the annual prime minister’s Independence Day speech.
It is the first significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.
“I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy,” Modi said, in a speech during a state visit to neighboring Bhutan, without giving further details.
“All those involved will be brought to justice.”
At least 19 people were also wounded when flames ripped through several vehicles. Crime scene investigators scoured through the wreckage early on Tuesday.
The explosion on Monday came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.
Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a militant group that India says is based in Pakistan, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of Al-Qaeda.
Both groups are listed as “terrorist” organizations in India.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at a conference in New Delhi, said that investigative agencies were “conducting a swift and thorough inquiry” and that the findings “will soon be made public.”
Singh, echoing Modi’s words, said “those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice, and will not be spared under any circumstances.”
Senior Delhi police officer Raja Banthia said they were investigating the blast in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city, under anti-terrorism laws.
New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.
’PEOPLE WERE BURNING’
Witnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.
“I saw the car explode while it was moving,” said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.
“People were on fire and we tried to save them... Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” he said.
“I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.”
The emergency ward at Delhi’s LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.
A woman broke down outside the ward where her husband was being treated.
“I can’t bear to see him like that,” she said as her brother tried to console her.
New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the gunmen after the April attack in Pahalgam, a claim denied by Islamabad.
That attack sparked clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.
The last significant attack in the Indian capital was in September 2011, when a bomb hidden in a briefcase ripped through a crowd outside New Delhi’s High Court, killing at least 14 people.
