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| - Bulgaria will block North Macedonia's bid to start EU accession talks on Tuesday, the country's vice premier said on Monday, after the two countries failed to settle a row over history. Bulgaria insists North Macedonia must recognise that its nation and language have Bulgarian origins, which Skopje says cannot be subject to discussion. Sofia also wants an end to anti-Bulgarian rhetoric and changes in history books to stop claiming figures from the two countries' common history before World War II as Skopje's own. "We support the EU accession of North Macedonia but this must happen after it declares engagement to resolve the disputed issues," Bulgarian vice premier Krasimir Karakachanov told public BNR radio on Monday. Karakachanov, who is the leader of the nationalist VMRO party, also accused Skopje of "failing to adhere to a 2017 friendship agreement" by allowing hate speech towards Bulgaria in its media. "Only when these issues are resolved, we will give our agreement for the start of negotiations." The two Balkan neighbours and Germany, which holds the rotating EU council presidency till end-2020, were trying to broker an agreement in time for the next EU general affairs council Tuesday. The council will review North Macedonia and Albania's framework for negotiations for starting EU accession talks. In order to get approval they must get backing from all member states. But on the eve of the council many thorny issues between Sofia and Skopje remained open. The Bulgarian government's position on its neighbour's historical origins is largely backed by public opinion, recent polls showed. According to a recent Alpha Reserach poll, 84 percent of the Bulgarians are against EU membership for North Macedonia until they find a compromise on the interpretation of common history. A total of 79 percent meanwhile consider the refusal of Skopje to recognise its population's Bulgarian roots as "a manipulation of historical facts". vs-ds/jxb
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