site.btaLeaders of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece Agree to Build Joint Transport Ring of Ports, Roads and Railways

Thessaloniki, July 4 (BTA special correspondent Hristo Vodenov) - The leaders of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Greece agreed to streamline the shipment of goods via their countries. This was announced by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after they met with Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras of Greece and Viorica Dancila of Romania in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The leaders held their fourth Quadrilateral Summit, completing the first round of a co-operation that began in Varna, Bulgaria, in October 2017.

Emerging from the meeting, Borissov said that Bulgaria made sure its Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2018 turned into a Balkan Presidency thanks to which all countries of the region could be represented before the 28 EU member states.

Borissov also said that Romania, Greece and Bulgaria can lobby for Serbia's entry in the EU but it is important that it fulfils the criteria. "We have to raise the gross domestic product and incomes, and become wealthier nations. Bulgaria used to have a single bridge with Romania [across the Danube] while Budapest alone has seven bridges. The bridge at Vidin-Calafat has four times more traffic than was expected," he said.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister said that the countries in the region should introduce a uniform rate for import of goods and make it payable at а one-stop shop "so that more goods - rather than migrants - can start to be imported from Asia and Africa".

"Bourgas-Alexandroupolis [railway corridor] is a key project for us аnd I hope the ministers will prepare the projects and the financing by the end of September. We are also working on the gas interconnectors with Serbia and Greece and on a gas hub which will get Russian natural gas," said Borissov. "We will ask EU commissioners to help us with this idea."

Tsipras called the Bulgarian EU Presidency "very successful", adding that in essence, it was a Balkan EU Presidency. He said the upcoming 16+1 Summit in Sofia, in which Greece is to participate, was also on the agenda of the Thessaloniki meeting. He stressed that being located at the crossroads of three continents,  the Balkans will play a significant geopolitical and economic role in the future. The Greek Prime Minister stated that the steps taken during the Bulgarian EU Presidency opened up new prospects for the Balkans.

For his part, Vucic said the Thessaloniki meeting was very important for Serbia, which sets great store by support from Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. He explained that this was the first time the four leaders had talked about a joint venture that will manage the transport infrastructure projects and the revenues generated by the four countries.

Vucic again stressed that his country's problem with Pristina remains unresolved. He also said he never interfered in other countries' problems and would not comment on the name of Macedonia. He said his compatriots were glad the problem was about to be settled.

The Serbian President wished Borissov to organize a UN session in Sofia as well.

Dancila congratulated Borissov on the successful completion of the EU Presidency, adding that Romania's stint starts in January 2019. The Romanian Prime Minister said the Western Balkans would stay in the focus of the EU Council Presidency.

The next quadrilateral meeting will be held in Varna in late September, said Tsipras.