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BG

PRIME MINISTER BORISSOV: CROATIA IS TO HOLD THE PRESIDENCY AND THE TOPIC OF THE WESTERN BALKANS WILL BE ON THE AGENDA AGAIN

21.11.2019

"The Croats are to hold the Presidency of the EU Council and the topic for the Western Balkans will be on the agenda again."

This is what Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said after his meeting with the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in Zagreb. The two spoke during the official visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister to Croatia.

 

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov noted that we need to adjust the events with a focus on European integration in the Western Balkans with Croatia next year. In May 2020, the Croatian Presidency organizes an EU-Western Balkans Summit in Zagreb.

  

Prime Minister Borissov emphasized that next year Bulgaria, together with the Republic of North Macedonia, will host the Berlin process, in which the leaders of the Western Balkans, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom will participate. "It will be an extremely sizable forum," Prime Minister Borissov noted. He reminded that our country will also host the Aqaba Process. "We will be organizing two events with the King of Jordan – on counterterrorism and on counter-radicalism," the Bulgarian Prime Minister added.

 

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov summed up that he and his Croatian counterpart, Andrej Plenković, have a lot of work to do. "We have to arrange the events so that we help each other and that each of the events has its own weight," Prime Minister Borissov pointed out.

 

Responding to a question about the European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania, the Prime Minister said: "In order for a country to move confidently on the path to the EU and NATO, all major systemic parties must have declared, conceived and accepted this, and the anti-Bulgarian rhetoric should not only be forgotten but they have to also be convinced that it was never true. We have not been anyone's occupier and history must not be overstated." Borissov noted that if the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania want to move forward, European values are clear.

 

Speaking to the media in Zagreb, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov also outlined that Bulgaria is a country that continues to be an example not only for dealing with the migration flow, but also in combating smuggling. He also recalled the good assessment - recognition by DipNote, the official blog of the US Department of State, of Bulgaria, designated as an ally to rely on.