site.btaBilateral Meetings of Bulgarian PM within EU-Western Balkans Summit

Sofia, May 17 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov held a series of bilateral meetings with EU leaders on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans Summit here on Thursday, the Government Information Service reported.

Borissov and British Prime Minister Theresa May discussed the EU Member States' support for connectivity in the Balkans and the cooperation in the area of security and counter-terrorism.

May said her country understands the importance of the Western Balkans and welcomes the placement of the connectivity topic in the focus of European countries' efforts. Despite Brexit, London's commitment to the Western Balkan countries will remain and the efforts to build on what has been achieved will continue, she said. Next month London will welcome the leaders of the Berlin Process countries to discuss various security aspects, May also said.

The UK is leaving the EU but not Europe, and it will work for the security of the whole of Europe: this is one of the areas in which the United Kingdom wants to preserve and develop the cooperation with its partners, May noted. Borissov said that the joint work should continue, particularly in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. "I do not think anyone in Europe doubts that we should be even more united with the UK in this respect," the Bulgarian PM added.

Borissov said that the EU should pay greater attention to the protection of its external borders. Greater political will can help achieve greater efficiency in the use of the huge resources allocated to the handling of the migration problem, and lead to indisputable results that can be felt by the European citizens, he also said.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki discussed cooperation within the EU. Morawiecki invited Borissov to visit Poland where their talks would continue.

Borissov and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven talked about the protection of the EU's external border and the migrant crisis. The Bulgarian PM said his country has proven that it has the political will to solve the problems in the area of migration. In his words, the migration flow is zero and Bulgaria is fulfilling its commitments for best protected border, regardless of the fact that it is not in the Schengen area.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Borissov held meetings with European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of Greece's New Democracy party.