site.btaBulgaria, Romania Open New Border Crossing, Two Governments Hold Joint Meeting

Kajnardzha, Northeastern Bulgaria, October 3 (BTA) - Prime Ministers Boyko Borissov of Bulgaria and Mihai Tudose of Romania Tuesday opened a new border crossing between the villages of Kajnardzha and Lipnitsa in the eastern part of the Bulgarian-Romanian border. At the opening, Tudose said that this day was very important because it marked a significant moment for the bilateral ties and was the result of many efforts by the two countries. "The more border checkpoints are opened, the easier it becomes for the population, the business, and tourism on both sides of the border, and the more we get to know each other," Borissov said.

A Kajnardzha-Lipnitsa cross-border road worth over 6 million euro has been constructed under the Bulgaria-Romania Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013.

Also attending the ceremony were the two countries' interior ministers, Valentin Radev and Carmen Dan.

The decision to open a border checkpoint at Kajnardzha follows up on a Bulgarian-Romanian agreement from 2012. According to a European Parliament regulation, Bulgaria and Romania are to set up joint border control at the joint border, as crossing people and vehicles are stopped for a check only once. A bilateral agreement on joint border control has been in effect since 2007. By this agreement, the checkpoint with all requisite facilities will be built on Romanian territory.

Later on Tuesday, a joint meeting of the Bulgarian and Romanian governments at the Euxinograd residence in Varna (on the Black Sea) focused on topics of bilateral interest in the sphere of economy and infrastructure, the Government Information Service said.

Prime Minister Borissov noted that the traffic between Bulgaria and Romania will become easier and increase through the construction of bridges, including a second bridge between Rousse and Giurgiu, working ferry connections, new border checkpoints, and improvement of the navigation conditions along the Danube. He added that the further development of Pan-European Corridor IV, VII, and X is a prerequisite for the achievement of infrastructural connectedness, including with the Western Balkan countries. In his words, this is of significant importance for competitiveness and growth.

Bulgaria and Romania are seeking joint investments for three major infrastructure projects, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

These include a second bridge over Danube at Rousse, a bridge, a railway line and a high-speed road at Nikopol and a 200-km motorway between Constanta and Bourgas. Borissov said he was optimistic that the toll system and the concession will attract investments.

The Bulgarian PM put an emphasis on the serious work done on the diversification of the energy supplies along not only the North-South axis but also the horizontal energy connections. He described as a key element the construction of the Balkan Gas Hub and said that Romania supports the project.

For his part, Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said that the development of infrastructure should not be an end in itself but make the two countries competitive in Europe and improve conditions for investments. According to him, the implementation of such projects will improve the life of the citizens.

Borissov also talked about the EU's internal security through strengthening its external borders, and underscored the importance of Bulgaria's and Romania's quick entry in the Schengen area.

Taking a question, he said that Bulgaria is in a very difficult position with regard to the migrant flow because of the long border with Turkey. He recalled that Bulgaria erected a border fence to deter illegal migrants and Europe has acknowledged that Bulgaria is coping the best in this respect.

"The accession of the Bulgaria and Romania of Schengen is a political issue," said Borissov. He added that with more tact, skill and diplomacy the issue may be resolved as the two countries are doing much better compared with Schengen countries. "We are continuing work with Romania on the issue," said Borissov.

He noted the significance of Balkan cooperation within the EU as well as the EU prospects for the countries in this region.

Romanian Prime Minister Tudose described the meeting in Varna as very beneficial and said it would remain in the two countries' history. He said that the two sides agreed to hold joint government meetings regularly.

According to him, the intergovernmental committees established on Tuesday will ensure that work is carried out pragmatically. "We should not waste another 20 years at Europe's periphery, looking at the centre, and forget about our neighbours," said Tudose. He added that a similar meeting of the two governments will be held as early as next month in Bucharest.

The two delegations adopted a joint declaration on the main topics covered during the plenary sitting.