site.btaPresident Plevneliev: Bulgaria and Croatia Are Part of Global Anti-Terror Coalition

President Plevneliev: Bulgaria and Croatia Are Part of Global Anti-Terror Coalition

Sofia, March 30 (BTA) - Speaking at a news conference he held jointly with the visiting Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic here Wednesday, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said that Bulgaria and Croatia are part of the global anti-terror coalition and their special services have active information exchange.

President Grabar-Kitarovic is on an official three-day visit in Sofia.

The two Presidents took questions about the measures that the EU countries need to take against the terrorist threats and also about how this will affect Europe's other key concern: the migration flow.

Plevneliev said that terrorism knows no borders and the solution can only be common.

He said that both Bulgaria and Croatia are worthy members of the anti-terror coalition. They are well aware that terrorism is not going to be done with any time soon, he added. "We are well aware that the global anti-terror coalition will be fighting its war against the terrorists but what all of us need to do if we are to win against the ideology of terrorism, is fight a battle for the hearts and minds of the young, the marginalized, the excluded and the high-risk groups," said the Bulgarian President.

He added that successfully fighting terrorism in the EU calls for common European instruments which need to be set in place, for integration of marginalized groups, for education.

The Bulgarian Head of State said that the level of risk in the EU now is highest since the end of WWII. "Nobody is insured against attacks," he added recalling the terror attacks in various parts of Europe.

Plevneliev said: "We exchanged a lot of information on the way our services address the problem in terms of information, how we register migrants, and whether it is possible for terrorists to infiltrate the migrant flow." He commented that this problem will be on the politicians' agenda for a long time and that it requires a concerted effort.

President Grabar-Kitarovic commented that an equals sign should not be put between migrants and terrorists. It is a fact, however, that terrorists have infiltrated certain migrant waves; it is a fact that migrants have crossed a number of countries and that terror attacks were committed in Paris and Brussels. "The only way to defend our countries is to enhance the citizens' vigilance," the Croatian President said, noting that terrorism is posing a growing risk to security. She also noted the importance of cooperation among the services, of integration and education.

The two Presidents concurred that Bulgaria and Croatia have excellent relations. They also discussed regional cooperation and improvements in transport and energy connections as the region's priority. Plevneliev said that establishing a European Energy Union and a regional energy exchange are a shared priority. Bulgaria and Croatia together can play a key role in regional energy cooperation, he said.

"The Adriatic-Baltic-Black Sea Initiative, launched by Croatia is a perfect opportunity to advance cooperation within a broad regional context and we support it unreservedly," said Plevneliev.

For her part, President Grabar-Kitarovic voiced disappointment with Croatia's rate of absorption of EU funds, adding she was impressed with Bulgaria's record in that area. She noted Bulgaria's economic growth and other indicators.
Kitarovic voiced a hope that bilateral cooperation in transport infrastructure will be boosted, a regular service between Zagreb and Sofia will be launched and energy cooperation will be enhanced. The Croatian President said that two-way trade was modest at 163 million euro in 2015, putting Bulgaria in 27th place as Croatia's trade partner. She said that there are no Bulgarian investments in Croatia, but the number of tourists is on the rise. In 2015, Croatian investments in Bulgaria totalled 14.5 million euro, she added.