Days before Portugal hands over the Presidency of the Council of the EU to Slovenia on July 1st, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ana Paula Zacarias said she expected Ljubljana to help resolve the issue between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Only in this way can Skopje start accession talks with the EU. Zacarias pointed out that Bulgaria's position should be respected and no disagreements should be introduced in the EU.

We also put pressure on Bulgaria because we had put a good offer on the table. But this pressure has its limits, Zacarias said. Asked by BNR's Horizont program whether a change in Bulgaria's position was expected after the elections on July 11, the diplomat replied: "What I feel is that the time was not right. Bulgaria needed more time to discuss these issues."