13.12.2017
Our European colleagues appreciate what Bulgaria is doing in its attempt to help the Balkans, commented Prime Minister Boyko Borissov after a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg. She is on a visit to Bulgaria to discuss the opportunities for deepening the bilateral relations, as well as issues from the European agenda.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister pointed out that active work is being done to achieve progress with the European integration of the Western Balkan countries so as the peoples of these countries could see that the European Union has embraced them. During the conversation with the Norwegian Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov received full support for the Bulgarian policy initiative for integration of the Western Balkan countries into the big European family.
During the talks, the two Prime Ministers also discussed the issue of the migration crisis in Europe. “We must have a strong foreign policy in respect to migrants. It is not acceptable that the decisions and the wars take place outside Europe, and still Europe takes all the liabilities,” said Boyko Borissov and added that Norway supports his view on the migration policy.
“Bulgaria is a very important partner for Norway,” said Erna Solberg and expressed appreciation for the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. She defined as important the moment in which our country will preside over the Union, taking into consideration the upcoming topics on the European agenda.
The bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and Norway has intensified with regard to the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. "I am delighted that we have signed an agreement for the new programming period 2014-2020 for funding in the amount of 210 million BGN in the fields of innovation, climate, social policy, and justice," the Norwegian Prime Minister said and added that the labor inspectorates of the two countries will work actively to ensure that Bulgarian citizens in Norway are integrated into good social conditions.
