site.btaSpanish Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo Talks with Bulgarian Counterpart Mitov and PM Borissov, Participates in Business Forum in Sofia

Spanish Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo Talks with Bulgarian Counterpart Mitov and PM Borissov, Participates in Business Forum in Sofia

Sofia, May 12 (BTA) - Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel
Garcia-Margallo y Marfil met with his Bulgarian counterpart
Daniel Mitov and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov during his
official visit to Sofia on Tuesday. Garcia-Margallo also
attended a Bulgarian-Spanish forum with the participation of
Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski.

The two chief diplomats discussed matters on the European and
international agenda, as well as bilateral relations.

Speaking at a briefing with Mitov, the Spanish Foreign Minister
said they both are concerned about migration, which will be one
of the central issues in the 21st century. Both Spain and
Bulgaria are external EU borders; the Spanish government
attaches a great importance to the migration issue and has
raised it at various meetings and on various occasions.
Garcia-Margallo said 21st century migration has certain
characteristics which make it a new global phenomenon. "We
should control illegal immigration, regulate migration flows and
integrate migrants in our country to prevent social exclusion.
There is a whole European immigration policy and the European
Commission will shortly come up with an immigration strategy,"
he added.

Answering a question, Mitov said the two countries were faced
with very similar challenges in terms of migration and refugee
flows. "Within the EU both countries are in favour of working
very actively with third countries from which migration flows
originate, of working to stabilize the regions which generate
instability and refugee waves," he said. The financing of the
receiving countries should be distributed on a solidarity
principle and the refugee flows should be shared according to a
quota system among all EU Member States because this phenomenon
concerns them all.

The Spanish Foreign Minister said that Bulgaria's economic
development was also on the agenda of his meetings. He commended
this government for ensuring great stability in Bulgaria.

Mitov noted the importance of the visit for strengthening the
ties between the two countries and for opening up new prospects
to trade and economic relations between them and to larger
Spanish investments in Bulgaria.

Mitov also thanked Spain for its constructive approach and
support for Bulgaria's entry in the Schengen area.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov conferred with
Spanish
Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo, the government information
service said.

The two discussed the development of bilateral relations,
cooperation within the EU and possibilities for advancement of
partnership between the two countries. The two concurred that as
EU's external borders Bulgaria and Spain share similar
problems in relation to migration. Garcia-Margallo and Borissov
discussed the challenges to EU countries arising from
migrant flows within the context of the latest decisions of the
European Council.

Garcia-Margallo attended a Bulgarian-Spanish forum at the
Sheraton. Spain and Bulgaria can play an important role as gas
import platforms supplying the EU, he said at the forum.
Geopolitical problems of interest to the two governments were on
the agenda of his meeting with Borissov. "We paid special
attention to two topics strongly linked to the economy: energy
and the structural funds Bulgaria will receive in the coming
years."

Garcia-Margallo also said Bulgaria can be an important platform
for gas and energy supply from the East, the way Spain is for
supply from the South. He recalled that his country has two gas
pipelines, which operate below their maximum capacity. Algeria,
which has some of the world's largest natural gas reserves,
meets 45 per cent of Spain's requirements.

Quoting trade figures, the Foreign Minister noted that
Bulgarian-Spanish relations are modest and there is ample room
for improvement. The two countries can cooperate in
infrastructure, railway projects, port infrastructure, and water
and waste treatment and management.

Addressing the participants,Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski
said that to attract larger Spanish investments, Bulgaria
needs political stability, which is already in evidence. The
legal framework is also on the to-do list. Work is under way on
changes in the regulation of public procurement and the
judiciary's operation, which are important for business. He
expects these changes to ensure a more stable business
environment and attract larger Spanish investments.

Loukarski identified real opportunities for Spanish investments
in railway transport and infrastructure maintenance, industrial
and household waste management and the energy sector, among
others.

Between 1996 and 2014, Spanish direct investments in Bulgaria
totalled 873.2 million euro, making Spain the 15th largest
investor. In 2014 alone, Spanish investments stood at 34.9
million euro and two-way trade topped 1,700 million euro. The
last ten years have seen an upward trend in Bulgarian-Spanish
trade, which continued in January 2015. Loukarski said there is
also a potential for cooperation with Spain in the textile
industry, car components manufacture, telecommunications and
tourism. Answering a question, the Economy Minister said that
projects and EU financing tended to concentrate in the same
companies during the programming period 2007-2013. Under the new
Operational Programme Innovations and Competitiveness,
companies which have already used EU money will have a lower
score which may leave some of them without fresh EU financing.