site.btaParliament Chair Karayancheva Participates in Conference of EU Parliaments' Speakers in Tallinn, Holds Meetings with Parliamentarians

Tallinn, April 23 (BTA) - On the sidelines of the Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments in Tallinn on Monday, Bulgarian National Assembly Chair Tsveta Karayancheva held a number of meetings with parliamentarians from European countries.

She conferred with European Parliament (EP) President Antonio Tajani and thanked him for the EP support during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council. Tajani commended Bulgaria for moving forward a significant number of EU dossiers.

Karayancheva held a bilateral meeting with her Montenegrin counterpart Ivan Brajovic, the National Assembly's press centre said Monday. She said during the meeting that Bulgaria will continue to put efforts into accelerating the process of Western Balkan countries' EU integration.

She underscored that Bulgaria pays particular attention to the EU-Western Balkans Summit to be held in Sofia in May. The topic of the Western Balkan countries' EU perspective is expected to remain on the EU's agenda and the work on it to continue during the Austrian and Romanian presidency of the EU Council, she added. Karayancheva went on to say that this topic is also an important commitment for the World Bank, which is ready to support projects worth over 200 million euro for the construction of various infrastructures, such as roads, railways and connectivity of regional ports.

Brajovic said that they can see Bulgaria's dedication to the EU perspective of the Western Balkan countries. In his words, Montenegro is a leader in the region and it can show the other countries the right path to Europe.

The Bulgarian Parliament Chair met with Gerard Larcher, President of the French Senate, and Francois de Rugy, President of the French National Assembly, and they shared a positive assessment of the increased dynamics of political dialogue in the past year and the fine bilateral relations.

Karayancheva said that France is a strategic partner and ally for Bulgaria and it is important for this country to maintain active contacts and interaction on a bilateral level and on matters of interest for the EU and NATO.

She brought up the issue of Bulgaria's aspiration to join the Schengen visa-free space and pointed out that her country has met all criteria for accession and has long been protecting the external EU border in keeping with the Schengen standards. She said: "This is why we find it unacceptable to be set additional requirements which have not been set for the other countries, or to see Schengen entry coupled with the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism [whereby Bulgaria has its progress in fighting organized crime and corruption, and reforming its judiciary monitored by the European Commission]."

Karayancheva reconfirmed Bulgaria's solidarity with France in its efforts against terrorism and defending the common values.

Stepping up the trade and economic contacts, as well as France' investment presence in Bulgaria were also discussed.

Sharing views on the next multiannual financial framework, the three concurred that the common agriculture policy and the cohesion fund are extremely important for nearly all member states and the available funding should not be cut, especially considering the upcoming Brexit.

Karayancheva told the two French parliament leaders that Bulgaria shares their country's view about the needed strategic capacity for protecting European security.