site.btaPlevneliev Talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella

Plevneliev Talks with Italian President  Sergio Mattarella

Rome, January 28 (BTA) - Meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev called Italy "an extremely important strategic partner and ally of Bulgaria," the President's press secretariat said.

The two state leaders discussed the vision for the EU's future enlargement and relations with the EU's neighbours. Shared views on this matter form a basis for even more active political dialogue between Bulgaria and Italy, said Plevneliev.

He stressed the strong presence of Italy's economy in Bulgaria and the potential for increasing Italian investments. In 2014 alone, they totalled 19 million euro. Between 1996 and 2014, Italian investments were close to 1,500 million euro, making Italy one of the top ten investors in Bulgaria. Two-way trade increased by 30 per cent to 4,200 million euro and Italy is Bulgaria's second largest EU trading partner after Germany.

Plevneliev invited Mattarella to visit Bulgaria with a business delegation. No Italian president has visited this country for ten years.

Energy and energy connectivity and deliveries are a shared priority of the two countries. The signing of an investment decision on the construction of a gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Greece with the participation of an Italian company is a real step towards energy supplies diversification, said Plevneliev.

The two presidents exchanged views on the EU's migration policy. "It is only with concerted action that Europe can cope with this challenge," Plevneliev said.

Italy and Bulgaria are working together on two of Europe's biggest problems: the refugee wave and the fight against terrorism. The Italian President said the EU needs to strongly amplify the exchange of information concerning terrorism. If this had been done, some terror attacks could have been avoided.

Plevneliev and Mattarella concurred that the EU needs a common policy of integration and repatriation of immigrants. The Italian President said the EU should invest in tighter control of its external borders, instead of individual Member States closing their borders and compromising the Schengen area. Plevneliev said the EU should take an approach involving refugee integration and repatriation of economic immigrants. Mattarella voiced his country's firm support for Bulgaria's Schengen membership.

The two heads of State expressed concern over the growing risk of a return of nationalist ideas in Europe.

Plevneliev raised the issue that the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Rome needs an adequate building, which will help to strengthen cultural contacts between the two countries.