site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva:Bulgarian EU Presidency Should Rebuild Trust in European Idea

Sofia, January 10 (BTA) - Against the backdrop of Brexit and Euroscepticism, the future EU presidencies, including that of Bulgaria, should rebuild trust in the European idea, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva says in a BTA interview. This can be achieved only through open dialogue, involving those who have lost their faith in a united Europe, she adds. Zaharieva underscores that Bulgaria has succeeded in making the Western Balkans a shared cause for Europe.

The Western Balkan countires have some of the youngest population in Europe but among the young unemployment is 60 per cent.

According to Zaharieva, the European integration of the Balkans is of national importance for Bulgaria because it is impossible to achieve wealth, stability and prosperity without wealthy, stable and prosperous neighbours.

Zaharieva outlines the success of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union as the main goal of 2018. Bulgaria should present its priorities and leave its mark on European politics at the highest level and show the difference between Bulgaria of today and Bulgaria of ten years ago. The Minister says that the biggest challenges remain the Western Balkans and work on the common European asylum system.

Reviewing the greatest success and the greatest challenge of 2017, Zaharieva mentions work by all EU members states on laying the foundations of the Common European Defence and negotiations on finalizing the goodneighbourliness treaty between Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Foreign Minister Zaharieva expresses hope that by the end of year Bulgaria will become a member of Schengen. "In 2018 I expect that the air and maritime borders will be lifted [Е]. Let's be realistic, there are still countries in the EU which believe that Bulgaria and Romania have no place in Schengen. The latest vote in the European Parliament showed that these skeptics are becoming fewer but we can't be absolutely certain that they will change their mind in the next six months."

The benefits from the EU Presidency are numerous. "For the first time Bulgaria is taking centre stage and we should take full advantage of it to show our good sides. Bulgaria has the largest per capita number of IT specialists in Europe and the third fastest broadband, is second in the number of mineral springs in the world, has the third richest cultural heritage after Italy and Greece in Europe. We have unique nature and thousands of smart people who are the true capital," adds Zaharieva.

Zaharieva says that Bulgaria's inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme remains a priority of bilateral relations and is raised at all possible levels. Bulgaria has concluded all necessary agreements with the US on the exchange of information for the purposes of fight against terrorism and heavy crime which is an integral requirement for inclusion in the Programme.

The last condition is a visa refusal rate of under 3 per cent in each of the past three years. Currently the visa refusal rate for Bulgarian citizens is between 14 and 17 per cent.

The decision for inclusion in the US Visa Waiver Programme is in the hands of the US Congress. Bulgaria expects that when making that decision longterm partnership in the area of security and defence and fight against terrorism, the excellent cooperation in law enforcement and the strict policy for control and refugee and migrant flows will be taken into consideration, says Zaharieva.