21.11.2019
"The European integration of the Western Balkans will continue to be one of Bulgaria's major foreign policy priorities, as it is an instrument for achieving stability, peace and prosperity in the region. We highly appreciate the commitment by the forthcoming Croatian Presidency on continuing the topic from our Presidency. "
This is what Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in Zagreb during his meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The two spoke during the official visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister to Croatia.
The focus of the meeting were the consultations on the priorities of the upcoming Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2020, which will continue to work for the European path of the six countries in the region. The topic was high on the EU agenda during the Bulgarian Presidency and was continued by the Austrian, Romanian and current Finnish Presidencies. The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU, Prime Ministers Borissov and Plenković were certain.
"It is not possible to achieve social and economic cohesion in Europe unless we improve transport, energy and digital infrastructure in the region and across the EU," Prime Minister Borissov told Plenković. The Bulgarian Prime Minister welcomed the continuity between our and the upcoming Croatian Presidency on key topics from the European agenda, as well as on such an important issue that is the infrastructural connectivity.
"It is particularly important to deal with the brain drain from our region. For this reason, I highly value the initiatives for young people and for creating better conditions for work and education in their own countries, "Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said. He confirmed our country's support for the priority topics of the Croatian Presidency, such as the negotiations on the new EU budget, the development of the Single Market and of digitization, investing in education and innovation, which are all at the heart of our competitiveness in a globalized world.
The two Prime Ministers discussed the development of trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Croatia, as well as the potential to encourage investment and attract mutual investors. Promising areas for partnership between Bulgarian and Croatian companies are the infrastructure projects, tourism, food industry, information and telecommunication technologies, energy.
"We share a common interest in regional infrastructure projects. Therefore, we believe that the construction of Transport Corridor No. 8 will be beneficial for the whole region, including Croatia, as it will provide an alternative route to the Black Sea - and further to the Caspian region and Central Asia," said Prime Minister Borissov.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister emphasized that the two countries should support together the European policy for strengthening the energy infrastructure and the development of projects aimed at diversifying routes and sources of natural gas.
"We consider the projects for the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector and the liquefied natural gas terminal on the Croatian island of Krk equally important," Prime Minister Borissov underlined. In the same context, the project for the construction of a gas hub on the territory of Bulgaria aims to create the necessary infrastructure connecting the EU gas markets with the countries of the Energy Community (Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina).
During the conversation, Borissov and Plenković also praised the development of the bilateral cultural and educational cooperation.
