site.bta135 Files in Different Sectors, Areas to be Discussed during Bulgarian EU Presidency in 2018

135 Files in Different Sectors, Areas to be Discussed during Bulgarian EU Presidency in 2018

Sofia, April 20 (BTA) -A hundred and thirty-five files in different sectors and areas are to be discussed during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council due in the first half of 2018, caretaker Deputy prime Minister Deniza Slateva said Thursday during a hearing on the topic in Parliament. The hearing was proposed by representatives of all parliamentary groups.

Slateva said that the Presidency has five key priorities: a Union for jobs, growth and competitiveness, and a Union empowering and protecting its citizens, meaning equal access to education, eradication of poverty, modernization of the European education systems. The third priority is the Energy Union, its sustainable formation, guaranteeing the security of energy supplies. The fourth priority is a European Union as a union of freedom, security and justice, guaranteeing the internal and external security, having a comprehensive policy in respect of migration and a permanent commitment for solidarity and support for the Member States that are external borders of the EU. The fifth priority is a EU as a powerful global actor.

Slateva said also that the first draft of the national programme for the Presidency is expected to be ready by the end of June, while the official presentation of the programme will not be until November. She noted that the preparation of the national programme starts after the official adoption of the programme of the Estonia-Bulgaria-Austria trio, the negotiations on which are to be finalized in May.

Slateva said that the caretaker government has set the preparation of the EU presidency as one of the two key areas of its work. The other was the conduct of fair and democratic elections on March 26.

Slateva noted the importance of the parliamentary dimension of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, saying that seven events are planned in this parliamentary aspect. She said that more than 1,200 people work, sparing no effort, to ensure that Bulgaria rises to the challenge of the presidency.

National Assembly Chairman Dimiter Glavchev praised the unanimity behind the proposal to hold the hearing. GERB floor leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov too congratulated all parliamentary groups for the consensus on the issue.