site.btaMinister for EU Presidency Briefs MPs on Interim Results

Sofia, April 20 (BTA) - Liliyana Pavlova, Minister for the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency, Friday briefed the MPs on the interim results of the first four months since this country assumed the rotating Presidency.

The declaration of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia on May 17 will have several annexes. So far no country, including those that have not recognized Kosovo, has declined to participate, said Pavlova.

The aim is to hold the meeting in a "28+6" format. On May 16, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will host an informal meeting of the European leaders with a focus on the digital economy and personal data protection.

In the four months of the EU Presidency there have been more than 18,000 articles on Bulgaria, of which slightly over 5 per cent were negative.

The EU perspective of the Western Balkans is one of Bulgaria's top priorities. The first success is a fact because Austria, which assumes the EU Presidency on July 1, will continue working on it.

Pavlova also noted the adoption of new election legislation and the scheduling of European Parliament elections for May 23-26, 2019.

The coming months will see the most difficult debates relating to Bulgaria's priorities. One of the topics is migration, the protection of the EU's external borders and the Dublin Regulation. Pavlova recalled that Bulgaria proposed a new approach to the reform of the single asylum system to ensure better analysis of the migrant flow.

The dossiers on online personal data protection, the energy dossiers, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the Erasmus Programme will also be in the focus of the Bulgarian EU Presidency in the coming months.

Since January, over 1,000 meetings and sessions have been held, including more than 700 meetings of committees and working groups chaired by Bulgaria. Work is under way on all 120-plus dossiers without delay, although certain institutions and sectoral organizations differ on some of them. Since January, work has been completed on 15 legislative dossiers, progress has been made on more than 35 dossiers, and there is progress in the trialogue between Bulgaria, the EU and the European Parliament on 65 dossiers. The Posted Workers Directive is one of the biggest successes of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, for which Sofia was praised by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The adoption of a regulation which ended geo-blocking in online shopping for goods and services in the EU is an important achievement with a direct impact on citizens.

Bulgaria is faced with a great challenge as the debate on the Road Package is forthcoming and this country has to protect the interests of local road hauliers, said Pavlova.

Answering a question by the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Pavlova said she had been assured that Bulgaria could see a positive development regarding its bid for Schengen entry very soon.

Replying to concerns of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms about agriculture, Pavlova said the decrease in the EU budget after Brexit would require a correction of the agricultural framework, but ruled out depopulation of rural regions.

Reactions of the parliamentary groups

The Bulgarian Socialist Party said it would continue its unqualified support for Bulgaria's entry in the Schengen area and for the Western Balkans. The MPs called for an extra effort to make a much greater progress on the legislative package on migration, the regulation of the free movement of personal data in the EU, and copyright. BSP for Bulgaria criticized the Prime Minister for failing to seek support from Parliament and to inform it about the EU's most important meetings.

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms said the EU Presidency was not tapped sufficiently as an opportunity to protect the national interest, including in agriculture, Bulgaria's entry in the Eurozone waiting room, the energy sector, and the protection of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The United Patriots, GERB's power-sharing partner, commended the EU Presidency so far. Still, Pavel Shopov said: "We have not gained anything, but at least we have not lost anything either."