site.btaNational Assembly Chairman Visits Romania

Bucharest, November 13 (BTA) - Meeting with Romanian Senate President Calin Popescu-Tariceanu on Monday, Bulgarian National Assembly Chairman Dimiter Glavchev said the two countries have a historically conditioned friendship, joined the European Union simultaneously, hold identical views, and have the same problems to solve, the Bulgarian legislature reported.

Glavchev is leading a Bulgarian parliamentary delegation on an official visit to Romania Monday and Tuesday at Popescu-Tariceanu's invitation.

Glavchev and Popescu-Tariceanu expressed their countries' support for all joint projects which have been discussed by their governments and parliaments. These include building a bridge over the Danube River between Silistra (Bulgaria) and Calarasi (Romania), another Danube bridge between Rousse and Giurgiu in addition to the one that already exists there, a hydropower complex on the Danube between Nikopol and Turnu Magurele, and a compressor station for the Bulgaria-Romania natural gas interconnector. The host stressed the importance of building corridors to link the Baltic Sea and the Aegean Sea.

Glavchev said Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled the requirements for joining the Schengen border-free area. He believes that the two countries should maintain and expand their cooperation on the matter of Schengen accession until they actually join the area.

He and Popescu-Tariceanu noted the development of Bulgaria's relations with Romania in the framework of Black Sea cooperation and the increase of two-way tourist exchange. They expressed support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

Glavchev updated Popescu-Tariceanu on the priorities of the forthcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, noting that Sofia values its dialogue with Bucharest on a wide range of matters figuring on the EU's strategic agenda.

The sides also considered the fight against high-level corruption. Glavchev drew his host's attention to the fact that the Bulgarian National Assembly is due to take a second-reading vote on an anticorruption bill, and said that Romania's experience in this field has been very useful. Popescu-Tariceanu said the National Anticorruption Directorate in Romania has been established to suppress high-level corruption, but currently it is being used to organize many punitive campaigns and has begun to prosecute particular political leaders.

Glavchev and Popescu-Tariceanu supported an idea about a joint meeting of the two parliaments' legal affairs committees.

Glavchev and the delegation led by him also met with Romania's Chamber of Deputies Vice President Florin Iordache.