site.btaEstonia, Austria, Bulgaria Present Priorities of EU Council Presidency Trio

Estonia, Austria, Bulgaria Present Priorities of EU Council Presidency Trio

Brussels, June 23 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Prime Ministers Juri Ratas of Estonia and Boyko Borissov of Bulgaria and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern presented the 18-month programme of their countries' EU Council Presidency Trio here on Friday, Bulgaria Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in 2018 Liliyana Pavlova told Bulgarian journalists.

The Presidency will rotate to Estonia on July 1, 2017. Bulgaria will hold it between January 1 and June 30, 2018, when it will pass to Austria for the second half of next year.

The Presidency Trio has five priorities: economic development and growth, security and migration, economic and energy union, climate change, and the EU as a global player on the world stage, Pavlova specified. "The three PMs discussed the priorities and expressed a clear will to work in partnership, in a spirit of seeking a balance, consensus and unity on all important issues," she added.

In her words, the three heads of government noted that the Presidency Trio takes over at a turbulent moment for Europe. "We must pool our efforts, especially as regards security, migration and the situation in the Western Balkans," Pavlova commented.