site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva: Bulgaria and Slovakia Are Among Staunchest Supporters of EU Enlargement

October 24 (BTA) - After meeting with Slovakia's chief
diplomat Miroslav Lajcak here on Thursday, Bulgarian Foreign
Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said the two countries are some of
the staunchest supporters of EU enlargement.

Zaharieva commented: "We deeply regret that the European Council
 has once again postponed the decision to open negotiations with
 North Macedonia and Albania. I believe that this will lead to
instability in the region and that European integration is the
strongest engine for reform." She voiced concern that this could
 lead not only to loss of motivation and disappointment in those
 two countries, but also to a loss of motivation and a slowdown
of reforms in the countries which are already holding accession
talks.

Zaharieva emphasized that Bulgaria and Slovakia hold very close
positions on EU matters, on the Multiannual Financial Framework,
 and on the EU's future. She also said that two-way trade has
been increasing in recent years. In the first six months of 2019
 alone, trade grew by 25 per cent compared to the first half of
2018. Two-way trade stood at 610 million euro in the whole of
2018. Tourism between the two countries has also increased and
last year 82,000 Slovak tourists visited Bulgaria (up by 9 per
cent year on year), while about 40,000 Bulgarians visited
Slovakia (an increase by 14 per cent).

Zaharieva outlined the areas of cooperation between the two
countries in the automotive industry, high technology and
education. She added that it would be good to organize a
business forum or a meeting between the two chambers of commerce
 in the near future.

Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said that Slovakia and Bulgaria
 are very close partners regarding the European agenda. They
closely coordinate their efforts on the drafting of the next EU
budget and are fully convinced that Cohesion Policy should be
one of its pillars. Lajcak noted that the two countries hold
identical views on Brexit and EU enlargement.

The two officials signed a memorandum of understanding on
international development cooperation between their ministries.

Lajcak also met with Vice President Iliana Iotova for a
discussion of the EU future of the countries of the Western
Balkans, security and the migrant crisis, and Brexit, the
President's press secretariat said.

Later in the day, Lajcak gave a public talk entitled "Together
or Alone? The Importance of Multilateralism", organized by
PanEuropa Bulgaria and the Slovak Embassy at the House of
Europe.
RY/DT,DD




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