08.02.2024
“I am proud of what Bulgaria has achieved and in our eyes you are already a full member of Schengen.” The statement was made by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte after he met with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Acad. Nikolai Denkov in The Hague. Mark Rutte emphasized that he is optimistic about Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area including the land borders within by the end of the year as he pointed out that his country would continue to work actively to achieve this goal with other countries, accordingly.
Prime Minister Acad. Nikolai Denkov noted that the Netherlands is the investor Number One in Bulgaria and that these excellent economic relations should continue in the context of the general development in the region. “We are grateful to the support of the Netherlands for all European priorities of our government – Schengen, the Eurozone, the OECD. These are priorities on which we are working very closely with our Western partners,” Acad. Denkov said.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands pointed out that Bulgaria is moving in the right direction on the way to the Eurozone. “I envy your very low debt-to-GDP ratio which is half of ours and a third of Germany’s,” Mark Rutte emphasized and added that our country had handled the budget deficit, inter alia, very well and this is to be attributed to the stable policy pursued by the government led by Acad. Denkov and by the Finance Ministry team.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister reiterated the country’s willingness to help Ukraine in various aspects. Acad. Nikolai Denkov noted that Bulgaria is rapidly developing its defense forces and is strengthening cooperation with neighbor countries in the Black Sea region – Romania and Turkey within the NATO partnership.
The two Prime Ministers commented on disinformation which is the other threat that Russia uses in an effort to influence and derange Bulgarian society.
