site.btaBulgarian and Estonian Parliaments to Cooperate in Preparation for EU Presidency in 2018

Bulgarian and Estonian Parliaments to Cooperate in Preparation for  EU Presidency in 2018

Tallinn, June 13 (BTA) - A Bulgarian parliamentary delegation headed by National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva started an official visit to Tallinn with a meeting with Estonian Parliament Speaker Eiki Nestor.

The two parliament leaders concurred that the two countries have relations of sincere friendship, share common priorities and, most importantly, have a will, in their capacity as EU member states and countries which will hold the EU Presidency in 2018, to work together to seek solutions to the challenges facing the EU.

They agreed that migration and the new security challenges for Europe are among the issues which are subject to heated debates in the two countries, involving their legislatures.

Tsacheva reconfirmed the Bulgarian position that the only working and sustainable solution can be a common European solution taking into consideration the interests of all member states and aiming to deal with the root cause of the migration flow.

The Bulgarian parliament leader said that efficient control on the external EU border is of topmost importance. She added that Bulgaria acts like a Schengen member state and implements strictly the commitments for protecting the external EU border. "Bulgaria and Romania in Schengen: it means a safer Europe," said Tsacheva.

Estonia is supportive of Bulgaria's accession to Schengen.

The two sides also discussed Estonia's experience with electronic government, which is an issue of priority for Bulgaria, and the need to have policies for development of the common digital market. They expect such policies to be on the agenda of the two countries during their EU Presidency in 2018.

The two parliament leaders agreed to set in place a mechanism for permanent dialogue and interaction on the level of legislature and parliamentary administration as they prepare for the EU Presidency.

The agenda of the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation also includes meetings with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand.

The Bulgarian delegation in Tallinn includes the leader of the Bulgaria-Estonia Friendship Group in the Bulgarian Parliament, Valeri Zhablyanov, and MPs Stefan Zhelev, Nastimir Ananiev and Boris Yachev.