site.btaGovernments of Bulgaria and Romania to Hold Joint Meeting in October

Varna, on the Black Sea, July 29 (BTA) - The governments of Bulgaria and Romania will hold a joint meeting in Varna in October, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in the seaside city on Saturday. Borissov added that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will also be invited to the meeting. The discussion will focus on improving the transport links between the Balkan countries, he said.

Borissov was in Varna to talk with the participants in the summer university of the European Democrat Students, the official student organization of the European People's Party.

He said the accession of the Balkan countries to the European Union goes through infrastructure. "The building of links between the individual nations will allow Bulgaria to become a very important transport hub," Borissov noted. The matter should be bound up with the implementation of the EU strategies for the Danube and Black Sea regions, he insisted. According to the Prime Minister, Bulgaria will have a rare chance of keeping the topic hot as it presides over the Council of the EU in the first half of 2018, after which the presidency will go to Austria and then to Romania, both of which are Danubian countries like Bulgaria.

Borissov also told the students that major European politicians will visit Bulgaria later this year. French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in late August. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to come by the end of the year. The prime ministers of Spain and Poland are also expected. The chancellor of Germany will come after the autumn elections in that country.

Taking a question from the audience, Borissov said Bulgaria is implementing a very moderate and pragmatic policy in its relations with Russia. He said: "In earlier years, we had a rather complicated relationship with that country, but pragmatism requires the relationship to be normal, not strained." Expressing his personal opinion, he said the EU sanctions against Russia have been unproductive.