site.btaDutch Foreign Minister Holds Talks in Sofia

Dutch Foreign Minister Holds Talks in Sofia

Sofia, October 7 (BTA) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov told Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders on Wednesday that his country values highly its relations with the Netherlands, which is a major source of investments in the Bulgarian economy, and there is more untapped potential to promote bilateral trade and
economic cooperation.

Koenders arrived on an official visit to Sofia at the invitation of Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

Borissov said his government prioritizes the creation of a favourable, predictable and stable business environment. He expressed his satisfaction with the excellent cooperation between Bulgaria and the Netherlands in the field of justice, police affairs and the fight against human trafficking. "We count on the support of the Netherlands in our preparations for the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in 2018," the Prime Minister said.

He and Koenders discussed the migratory pressure on Europe. Borissov thanked the Netherlands for its assistance in addressing the refugee problem in Bulgaria. The two concurred that the effort to deal with the refugee influx requires joint actions and solidarity.

Borissov invited Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to visit Sofia.

Koenders said Bulgaria is a steady partner in the EU and NATO and agreed with Borissov that Bulgarian-Dutch relations have much potential to develop.

Speaking at a joint conference later in the day after a meeting with the Dutch guest, Foreign Minister Mitov said that Bulgaria has won its place in the border-free Schengen Area. "We rely on the Netherlands' support for Bulgaria' accession to the Schengen Area, particularly so in the current situation of unprecedented migratory pressure when Bulgaria duly fulfils its responsibilities and in practice acts as a member state of the border-free space," Mitov said, adding that this country will continue to do everything necessary to ensure the security of the EU's external borders, which is in the interest of all sides.

Mitov expressed satisfaction with the dynamic development of the commercial and economic relations between Bulgaria and the Netherlands, noting that the Netherlands is a particularly important economic partner of Bulgaria with a total amount of investments exceeding 7,000 million euro in 1996- 2014.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister said that the two countries' positions on key items of the EU agenda coincide. "We laid the foundations of an even more productive cooperation in the context of the upcoming Dutch presidency of the EU in the first half of 2016 and the preparation of the Bulgarian presidency in July-December 2018," Mitov said.

Koenders said that Bulgaria is a very stable partner in the EU. Commenting the problem with the refugee inflow, the Dutch Foreign Minister said that Europe must show solidarity. He said that work must be done not only for the EU solidarity but also in respect of the EU neighbours such as Turkey and the other countries in the region.

Koenders stressed the importance of Bulgaria's meeting the technical conditions for joining the Schengen Area. He noted that the accession is not included on the agenda of the next Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting. "We must move forward onto to the maritime, air and land borders which require legislative and political work. Apparently, everyone wants Bulgaria to join the Schengen Area," Koenders said.