
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday called on Bulgaria to lift its veto on EU accession talks for North Macedonia, saying the bloc should avoid dashing the membership hopes of countries in Western Balkans.
Scholz, visiting Sofia as part of a two-day tour of the region ahead of an EU-Western Balkans leaders' summit on June 23, said he sensed a "new willingness" by the EU to expand after Russia's invasion to Ukraine.