“The Leaders welcomed the invitation by Chancellor Merkel for the next Summit in Berlin in 2021,” states the draft version of the Chair’s Conclusions, learns EWB. The Summit in Sofia marks the end of the joint chairmanship of Bulgaria and North Macedonia, which many perceived as the one during which Sofia and Skopje would resolve their dispute.

However, the Joint Chairmanship was regarded as highly successful, as it is stated by Bujar Osmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia and Ekaterina Zaharieva, Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, on Monday, during the Think Tank and Civil Society Forum of the Berlin Process.

“The Joint Chairmanship has shown that bestowing of ownership of the process could produce a more regionally driven response to concrete needs and interests. The Berlin Process remains an instrument aiming at regional cohesion, concurrently providing convergence with the EU single market,” reads the draft version, exclusively learns EWB.

The draft version states that “the Joint Chairmanship commends the vision of Chancellor Merkel and the German stewardship of this process,” which brought together different interested parties adding quality to the regional cooperation.

Source.