site.bta Presidents of Bulgaria, Greece Support Western Balkans' EU Prospect

Presidents of Bulgaria, Greece Support Western Balkans'  EU Prospect

Sofia, December 14 (BTA) - The European project would not be complete until all countries from the Western Balkans take their place in the European family, said President Rosen Plevneliev here on Monday. He was speaking at a joint news conference with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who is on a two-day state visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart as of Monday.

The two presidents addressed the media after a one-on-one meeting and plenary talks between the official delegations.

Plevneliev said that the EU integration of the countries in the region does not have an alternative and it is the driving force of the positive change being observed in the Western Balkans in the last years. "Only together and by observing the principles of goodneighbourliness and non-manipulation of history can be handle the contemporary challenges and build these Balkans that we dream of: peaceful and prosperous," Plevneliev added.

Pavlopoulos said that Greece is in favour of the Western Balkans' European prospect, and that countries which want to become partners of the EU should respect the institutional facts and, most of all, history. In his words, living together within the EU is impossible under the conditions of falsification of history. Greece is also in favour of Turkey's European future if this country wishes to strive for entry in the EU and if it respects the European facts on the political and economic level, as well as the international law regarding open matters. In his words, these are open matters that Turkey has with Greece, and not the other way round, such as the Cyprus Issue. Turkey should respect EU law and human rights during the entire EU accession procedure, the Greek President also said.

Bilateral relations, trade and economic ties between Bulgaria and Greece, the connectivity in the region, cooperation in energy, and the unprecedented migration pressure also featured on the agenda of the two presidents' talks.

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