At a briefing during his visit to Brussels Prime Minister Kiril Petkov commented Bulgaria's veto over the start of EU membership talks with North Macedonia, saying that bilateral relations should be also developed in the economic sphere, without abandoning Bulgaria’s national interests. "We need to upgrade our position with working groups in various fields, but this should not be a political act," Petkov said. "This means also talking about infrastructure, a railroad link between Sofia and Skopje, etc. and not just about history. History is very important, but this should not be the only topic," the Prime Minister said, according to BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova. Petkov also pointed out that it was very important that Bulgarians in North Macedonia do not feel discriminated and at risk.

At the briefing, Petkov also stated that changes were to be made in the Bulgarian Recovery and Resilience Plan when it came to the energy sphere.