site.btaBulgarian Foreign Minister Meets Croatian Counterpart, Confirms Support for EU Integration of Western Balkans, Including North Macedonia

October 12 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Svetlan
Stoev met with his visiting Croatian counterpart, Gordan
Grlic-Radman, on Tuesday. In a statement for the press after the
 meeting, Stoev said that he reconfirmed Sofia's "consistent
support for the European integration of the countries in the
region, including the Republic of North Macedonia".

Croatia's top diplomat is on an official visit to Bulgaria.

The EU prospects of the Western Balkans and bilateral relations
also dominated the agenda as Grlic-Radman met with Prime
Minister Stefan Yanev later in the day.
 
Stoev said that  in the recent months Bulgaria "invested serious
 efforts to maintain open and full dialogue with our neighbour
and restore confidence in our relations". "At the same time,
Bulgaria needs tangible actions and guarantees for lasting and
irreversible implementation of the 2017 Treaty [of
goodneighbourliness] and respect for the rights of the citizens
of Bulgaria and of the Republic of North Macedonia, who have
Bulgarian self-awareness," he said.

He said that Bulgaria has been "proactive, shows good will and
relies of Skopje's good will to achieve the needed results".

Taking a reporter's question, the Bulgarian tp diplomat said
that expert talks between the two Foreign Ministries continue.
The latest round was in late September, when Bulgaria handed in
its proposals for a bilateral protocol on government level, and
the next round will likely be held before the end of October.
Some results have been achieved and a meeting of the bilateral
commission on matters of history and culture is now due on
October 20-21, he also said.

Stoev and Grlic-Radman were unanimous that the European
integration of the countries in the Western Balkans is a shared
goal for Bulgaria and Croatia, and that all criteria for
accession should be met. Croatia fully supports the friendship
between Sofia and Skopje and wants to see them find a solution.

Foreign Minister Grlic-Radman further noted the fine bilateral
relations between Bulgaria and Croatia based on the European
values and shared interests in the EU, and the closeness in the
cultural and historical heritage. He added though that his
country is not happy with the level of cooperation and sees room
 to further strengthen it on the basis of the common aspiration
for accession to the Schengen agreement and the Eurozone, which
he said would enhance the fuller integration of the two
countries with the European family. Also, he argued that it is
in the interest of the entire EU to see this accession happening
 the soonest possible.

During the meeting the two ministers confirmed the shared will
to broaden strategic relations and identify more fields for
cooperation. Stoev sees a potential in security, tourism and
economy in general, culture and education. In the economy, the
efforts are focused on improving connectivity and increasing the
 commercial exchange.  

The two diplomats also discussed issues from the EU agenda.

In Stoev's presence, the Croatian Foreign Minister and Bulgarian
 Culture Minister Velislav Minekov signed a programme on
cooperaion in culture, which covers all fields of culture.

During the meeting between Grlic-Radman and Prime Minister
Stefan Yanev, the two sides concurred that there is a consideble
 potential for bilateral partnership in a number of areas,
including the economy and transport connectivity, said the
government press office.

They took stock of the close partnership between the two
countries within the EU and NATO, as well as the similar
positions on a number of issues, including regional cooperation,
 strengthening stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans
and their European prospects.

Prime Minister Yanev extended an invitation for his Croatian
counterpart Andrej Plenkovic to visit Bulgaria at his
convinience. MY/LN/RY
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