site.bta Foreign Minister Mitov: Bulgaria Will Continue Supporting Serbia on Road to European Integration

Foreign Minister Mitov: Bulgaria Will Continue Supporting Serbia on Road to European Integration

Sofia, October 23 (BTA) - Speaking at a trilateral meeting in
Sofia of delegations of the parliamentary foreign policy
committees of Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, Foreign Minister
Daniel Mitov said that the expansion of the EU would take place
in the medium term and Bulgaria would continue to support its
Serbian neighbours in their progress towards European
integration. The Foreign Ministry quoted Mitov as saying that
Bulgaria would help its neighbours and share the experience
gained during its negotiations with the EU and afterwards.

Mitov also noted Bulgaria's good cooperation with Turkey in
coping with the refugee crisis, and stressed that this helped to
 protect the EU's external border and promoted regional
cooperation.

Bulgaria's chief diplomat emphasized that a clear distinction
should be drawn between refugees fleeing conflict zones due to
war, and economic migrants. The asylum seekers themselves should
 be clear that they cannot stay in the EU in the long run; on
the contrary, once the situation in Syria calms down, they must
return and help to rebuild their homeland. The Foreign Minister
also underlined the need to work out a joint European position
on the refugee problem.

Mitov singled out another important aspect of regional
cooperation - to ensure the Balkans' energy independence and
create a European Energy Union. To this end the Balkan
neighbours should build interconnectors.

Mitov stressed other priority areas of cooperation among the
Balkan countries: energy independence, transport corridors and
infrastructure. Along with work on the Danube Strategy, he
called for further construction of Pan-European Corridor X and
of links between the capitals of Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania.

The Serbian representatives said they expected Bulgaria and
Romania to support their country's progress towards European
integration and EU membership.

Petru Filip, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the
Romanian Senate, stressed the importance of the Danube as a link
 between the three countries and as a great opportunity to
develop the region's economy. He backed the Bulgarian position
in favour of support for Serbia along its road to EU accession.