site.btaDeputy PM and Foreign Minister Zaharieva Confers with Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz in Vienna

Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Zaharieva Confers with Austrian Foreign Minister Kurz in Vienna

Vienna, June 12 (BTA) - Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister conferred in Vienna on Monday with Sebastian Kurz, Austria's Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release.

"The two countries cooperate excellently within the European Union on migration and border security," Kurz told Zaharieva. He said that Austria received 90,000 migrants in 2015 and nearly 40,000 in 2016 and noted the efforts that Bulgaria is making to protect the Union's external border.

"The migration pressure on our border has decreased by 89 per cent compared to last year. We are completely ready to join Schengen, and we are grateful for your Government's support," Zaharieva said. "Bulgaria's integration into the Schengen area is an important condition for our country's full contribution to common European security and will enable the Bulgarian authorities to respond in full measure to security risks at the EU external borders," the Deputy PM said.

The two chief diplomats discussed the programme of the EU Council Presidency Trio (Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria) which will be formally adopted in Brussels next week. "We will continue to count on close interaction with Austria for the successful implementation of the Trio Programme priorities, and we expect support for the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council," Zaharieva said. Kurz thanked for the good teamwork between officials of the two foreign ministries in connection with the presidency.

The debate on the future of the EU and public moods, Brexit, and the need to ease the administrative burden on business and citizens at the European level figured on the agenda of the session.

The need of the Western Balkans getting a European perspective was a special highlight of the Zaharieva-Kurz talks, and this matter will be among the priorities of both the Bulgarian and the Austrian presidency. The region will come into focus even before the formal start of the Bulgarian Presidency, in October 2017, when Sofia will host the regular EU Western Balkans Ministerial Forum on Justice and Home Affairs.

Austria is a priority trade and economic partner of Bulgaria. In 2016 two-way trade totalled 1,200 million euro, of which 458.7 million euro was the worth of exports to Austria and 722 million euro was the value of imports from Austria. The Bulgarian National Bank puts the stock of Austrian investments in Bulgaria at 6,200 million euro for the 1996-2016 period. Austrian companies pursue business and show investor interest in energy, telecommunications, the automotive industry, infrastructure projects and the financial sector.