site.btaDeputy PM Zaharieva: Bulgaria Will Continue to Fully Support Moldova's Reforms

Chisinau, October 31 (BTA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said Bulgaria would continue to fully support Moldova's reforms during its progress towards EU membership. Zaharieva, who is on a two-day visit to Moldova, met with Prime Minister Pavel Filip and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Galbur, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said on Tuesday.

Zaharieva said: "Bulgaria implemented very difficult reforms and many people were asking themselves if they were worthwhile, but now we can say they were. GDP increased threefold in the ten years since Bulgaria joined the EU, it boasts 4 per cent economic growth and one of Europe's lowest public debts as a percentage of GDP. People's incomes increase every year. And most importantly, Bulgarians already have a self-confidence as EU citizens: they can travel, work and study anywhere in Europe." She stressed that the reforms carried out by the Moldovan government are not for the benefit of Brussels but for the benefit of the citizens.

Bulgaria was one of the first countries to ratify the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, less than a month after it was signed on June 27, 2014. Sofia supported the European Parliament's decision to amend the annexes of Regulation 539/2001 and transfer Moldova to the positive list. As of April 28, 2014, holders of a Moldovan biometric passport are exempt from a visa requirement for a short stay in the EU.

Prime Minister Pavel Filip thanked Bulgaria for its support, saying that Moldova needs a perspective and a light at the end of the tunnel as it does not want to stand at a crossroads forever. He extended an invitation to his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov.

Filip briefed Zaharieva on the progress of judicial and education reform. She thanked the Moldovan government for imposing a moratorium on school closures in small settlements, which would have affected regions with a Bulgarian population.

Zaharieva also thanked Chisinau for its help in opening a Bulgarian consulate. "Bulgarians in Taraclia form a bridge between the two countries. We should support their education and Bulgarian businesses so they can contribute to Moldova's economy," she said.

Meeting with Zaharieva, Andrei Galbur said he was happy that the two would open the Bulgarian Consulate in Taraclia. He expressed hope that besides providing administrative services, it would uphold the Bulgarian cultural and language traditions. He said it is important not just to study Bulgarian, but to use it in Moldovan society.

The 2014 census showed that 51,867 citizens of Bulgarian origin live mostly in Southern Moldova and about 12,000 in Transnistria. The Bulgarians have minority status and are entitled to dual nationality. In the 2016/2017 academic year, 104 students of Bulgarian origin living in Moldova were admitted to Bulgarian universities. In 2017-2018 Bulgaria will finance the studies of 62 Bulgarian students from Moldova.

Business contacts between the two countries are gaining upward momentum. Two-way trade increased steadily and stood at 94.1 million US dollars in 2016. Last year 179,000 Moldovans visited Bulgaria for tourism and holidays, 9.1 per cent more than in 2015. Moldovan tourists numbered 115,775 in the first seven months of 2017, 16.5 per cent more than a year earlier, said the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

Later in the day, Zaharieva and Galbur opened the Bulgarian Consulate in the southern Molodovan town of Taraclia, which is predominantly populated by Bulgarians. According to the 2014 census, nearly 25,000 ethnic Bulgarians live in the region.

"This Consulate not just facilitate and offer consulate services, but we believe that it will be a prerequisite and a link to motivating Bulgarian businesses to come invest here and create jobs. Lets further reinforce and maintain the Bulgarian spirit, language, culture and traditions," Zaharieva said.

Speaking on behalf of the Moldovan Government, Galbur said that everything possible will be done so that the Bulgarian minority can feel comfortable, while also being part of the reforms conducted in Moldova, which are aimed at integrating the country into the EU.

Ivan Stoyanov has been appointed Consul. He was among the first to start teaching Bulgarian language in one of the town's schools in the 1990s.