• The action is a U-turn for former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
• Who rejected discussions with Macedonian in 2019 over the interpretation of Balkan history.
• Bulgaria’s opposition has decided to support lifting the country’s veto on the commencement of accession discussions with North Macedonia.

Bulgaria opposition has decided to support lifting the country’s veto on the commencement of accession discussions with North Macedonia, raising hopes for a breakthrough in the stalled process of EU enlargement in the western Balkans.

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Boyko Borisov, a former Bulgarian prime minister, said his centre-right GERB party will vote in favour of opening the EU negotiations. If ratified by the Bulgarian parliament, this would also open the door to membership discussions with Albania ahead of the EU summit on Thursday and Friday.

“This is the most correct decision for the future of the Balkans, the EU and Bulgaria,” said Borisov. “We will not remain on the dark side of Eurasia, we will not allow Putinisation.”

The action is a U-turn for Borisov, who rejected discussions with North Macedonia in 2019 over the interpretation of Balkan history by the former Yugoslav nation.

Kiril Petkov, the reformist prime minister of Bulgaria, was on the verge of striking an agreement with Skopje to unlock the discussions when one of his coalition partners withdrew in protest over the matter earlier this month, leaving him clinging to power.

Parliament could vote on enlargement discussions on Thursday, with GERB’s backing being sufficient to override Sofia’s veto.

European authorities are concerned that preventing EU expansion would cause political instability in the western Balkans and disenchantment with the region’s westward trajectory, which Russia could exploit.

North Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania affirmed on Wednesday that they will participate in a summit with EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, a day after threatening not to attend due to Bulgaria’s resistance to North Macedonia’s candidacy.

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“We’ll attend the EU Council meeting,” Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama said, adding that Bulgaria’s stance was akin to “kidnapping” and “destroys” the “spirit of Europe”.