site.bta Interior Minister Vouchkov Confers with German Counterpart de Maiziere

Interior Minister Vouchkov Confers with German Counterpart de Maiziere

Riga, January 29 (BTA) - Minister of Interior Vesselin Vouchkov
conferred here on Thursday with his German counterpart Thomas de
 Maiziere, Vouchkov's Ministry reported. The meeting was held as
 part of the Informal EU Council Meeting of Ministers for
Justice and Home Affairs.

The conversation was conducted openly and constructively.
Vouchkov and de Maiziere highly assessed cooperation in the
field of home affairs and voiced readiness to continue working
on enhancing it. Germany will support Bulgaria in the
preparations for assuming the EU presidency in 2018 with
expertise and trainings, it emerged from the meeting.

Minister Vouchkov introduced his German counterpart to the
political situation in Bulgaria and the steps taken by the
Government towards reform in the security sector and the justice
 system. He also presented the assessments of the latest EC
report under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification.
Minister de Maiziere encouraged the Bulgarian Government to
continue with the reforms and achieve concrete and visible
results. The fast and sustainable progress will also set new
parameters regarding Bulgaria's Schengen accession.

The two ministers discussed the increased migration pressure
towards the EU and the need to reinforce cooperation in the
fight against international terrorism. The measures, taken by
Bulgaria for guaranteeing the high level of security on the
Bulgarian-Turkish border, were presented during the meeting. The
 efforts Bulgaria makes for limiting the migration pressure
towards the EU were recognized, the press release said.

Minister de Maiziere accepted an invitation to visit Bulgaria.