BG

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov meets Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger

02.06.2022

Bulgaria and the Slovak Republic uphold approximately identical positions and have similar interests concerning a number of issues of relevance to the region and to Europe and this is a prerequisite for even closer cooperation between our two countries. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov made this statement at his meeting with Eduard Heger, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic. In the past ten years, none of the Bulgarian prime ministers visited Bratislava; therefore, Kiril Petkov’s current visit is a sign of Bulgaria’s interest to promote its partnership with the Slovak Republic.

 

The Slovak Prime Minister welcomed Bulgaria’s staunch stance on the unilateral shutoff by Gazprom of the gas supplies. Kiril Petkov and Eduard Heger agreed that joint EU action in the energy sector would be of key importance for the achievement of diversification and security.

 

Prime Minister Kiril Petkov stressed the opportunities for cooperation between Bulgaria and the Slovak Republic in important areas such as the economy and investment. He pinpointed the two countries’ close positions on European issues of the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy as a good steppingstone for more robust interaction.

 

An item on the agenda for discussion was the fight against corruption as one of the Bulgarian Government’s ongoing priorities. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov emphasized the close positions of Bulgaria and of the Slovak Republic on the need to expand the mandate of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) so that a wider range of crimes could be investigated. In the opinion of the Prime Minister, this would be a right step to ensure, inter alia, the rule of law in Bulgaria.