site.btaNikolaos Voutsis: Greece Will Stand Side by Side with Bulgaria during EU Presidency

Sofia, October 20 (BTA) - Addressing the National Assembly here on Friday, Nikolaos Voutsis, President of the Hellenic Parliament, said Greece would stand side by side with Bulgaria during its Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018.

Voutsis is here on an official visit at the invitation of National Assembly Chair Dimiter Glavchev.

The EU accession of the Western Balkans should be re-tabled for discussion, according to the Greek official. Greece and Bulgaria could offer their expertise as EU members to their neighbours and help to accelerate their accession talks. Bulgaria's stint at the EU Presidency comes at the right time as it can act as "a Balkan Presidency", Voutsis said, referring to a statement by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. The leaders of Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Greece welcomed this idea at their recent meeting in Varna, said Voutsis.

Greek-Bulgarian relations are the engine not just of Balkan cooperation, but of the joint effort to place Southeastern Europe in the centre of the EU's priorities.

Voutsis listed several goals of cooperation: to strengthen security in Southeastern Europe by dealing with nationalistic attitudes, which hamper progress and prosperity; to address the problem of migration and refugees; and to work together in the transport and energy sectors.

Bulgaria and Greece can join efforts so as not to have an EU of concentric circles with a single core, or peripheral unions of countries as special economic zones with permanent disparities, said Voutsis. Through a joint discussion of the EU's future and architecture, the Union should seek to enhance its social character, curb social inequalities, strengthen its democratic legality and offer ways to strengthen cohesion. It is only through effective solutions along these lines that Europe will stay united and the forces of populism and Euroscepticism will be defeated. The national parliaments have a determining role to play in this endeavour and they should be active participants in the dialogue on Europe's future.

The President of the Hellenic Parliament said he was confident that as the next holder of the rotating EU Presidency, Bulgaria would show dedication and perseverance in solving the above problems by working to eliminate the regional and social disparities in the EU and would make an effort towards a Europe whose Member States will be equal not just in name only. Greece will be Bulgaria's friend and supporter in these efforts, Voutsis said.

Talking later in the day, Glavchev and Voutsis noted that increasingly frequent meetings between the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania were the beginning of a Balkan group within the European Union.

The three countries form the core of the group, which has been joined by the countries of the Western Balkans which have declared their European perspective, Glavchev told reporters after the meeting. He recalled that the Western Balkans are a priority of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency, which was also discussed by the two parliament leaders.

The discussion on European policies will culminate during Bulgaria's EU Council Presidency. It is in the first six months of 2018 that the EU leadership will have to say if it wants the EU institutions to be strengthened and what policies it will pursue towards refugee flows, said Voutsis. He added that the Balkan group was not a closed circle. It is a lever for setting in motion, within the EU, the democratic principles of equality. The group is open to Macedonia, Voutsis said, recalling that Athens backs Skopje's bid for EU membership after it meets all criteria.

The Greek official expressed a hope that a Europe in which the principles and rules apply equally to all would be achieved.

Glavchev said the two identified common problems to which common solutions will be sought. He briefed Voutsis on the shared possibilities for development of the region as an energy hub.