site.btaKosovo Thanks Bulgaria for Supporting Its Euro-Atlantic Integration

Pristina, October 20 (BTA) - The President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Kosovo thanked Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva for her government's support for Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia reported on Friday.

Zaharieva is paying a working visit to Kosovo on Thursday and Friday. It is the last trip of her tour of the six Western Balkan countries which aspire to join the EU and NATO.

Zaharieva told her hosts in Pristina that the integration of the Western Balkans will be a priority of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2018. "We are convinced that unless our friends in the six countries in the region get into the EU, the Europe project will be incomplete," she stated. According to her, the reforms required for admission to the bloc should be made for the sake of the people in the respective countries, rather than to appease Brussels.

"Let us not look back to history, let us look ahead to the future," the Foreign Minister urged.

She went on to say: "At the EU summit in Sofia in May 2018 we want our neighbours to receive not only political support but also a clear plan for each country based on its own merits. Sometimes reforms seem difficult, but they are worthwhile. Since Bulgaria's entry to the EU we have tripled our GDP. Our economy grows by 4 per cent annually and our unemployment rate is below 6 per cent."

The Foreign Minister noted that it is necessary to seize the opportunity presented by the fact that five member states supportive of EU enlargement will be presiding over the EU Council: Estonia, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania and Croatia.

Zaharieva's first meeting in Pristina was with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. The host said: "We appreciate and thank you for your support for Kosovo. We regard Bulgaria as a strategic partner and we need to expand further our economic cooperation. Our goal is NATO and the EU. We are aware of the challenges, but we have no other way. We will continue our dialogue with Serbia and we want our relationship to normalize. This will help speed up both countries' integration."

Thaci noted that Bulgaria's Good-Neighbourliness Treaty with Macedonia, signed on August 1, sent an important message to the whole region.

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj extended an invitation to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov to visit Kosovo at his convenience. Haradinaj told Zaharieva: "I know some very good Bulgarian construction companies whose work here in Kosovo is of high quality. I also know many Kosovars who have studied at your universities. I hope that the liberalization of the visa regulations will allow our citizens to discover the beauty of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, about which I have heard very good things, as well as your winter resorts."

Kosovo's First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli told the guest: "I want to thank you and the Bulgarian government for everything you have done for Kosovo." Pacolli said his country's new government is determined to continue in the direction of the EU and to maintain good relations with the neighbouring countries. "I am confident that your position in Brussels will push the subject of the Balkans in the right direction," he added.

Zaharieva stressed that cooperation between Bulgaria and Kosovo can deepen. Over 700 Kosovo companies are already working with Bulgarian partners and many young Kosovars have studied or are studying in Bulgaria, she said. According to the diplomat, the ratification of the border delimitation agreement between Kosovo and Montenegro will be a major factor for making headway in the visa liberalization process which was encouraged by a May 2016 recommendation by the European Commission concerning holders of biometric passports. But Kosovo also needs to show it has made considerable progress in the fight against organized crime and corruption before the visa regulations are liberalized, Zaharieva noted.