site.btaPresident Radev Meets with Visegrad Group Countries' Ambassadors to Bulgaria

Bulgaria will continue to be a reliable partner in the transit of energy resources to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in ensuring energy security and stability in the region, head of State Rumen Radev said at a meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions of the Visegrad Group countries in Sofia on Friday. Czechia’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Miroslav Toman, Polish Ambassador Maciej Szymański, Slovak Ambassador Vasil Grivna and Hungarian Ambassador Miklos Boros participated in the meeting, the President’s press centre announced.

During the meeting, Radev highlighted the actions taken by Bulgaria to restore predictability in the Bulgarian energy sector with the abolition of the so-called energy contribution for the transportation of natural gas through the country. The President also highlighted the efforts made to diversify Bulgaria's natural gas supplies by ensuring access to the liquefied natural gas terminals in Greece and Turkiye and the reserved capacities there, as well as increasing the transit capacities of the Bulgarian gas transmission network. In this context, the potential of the Bulgarian Solidarity Ring initiative for cooperation between the gas transmission system operators of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) to transport additional quantities of natural gas to Europe was also discussed.

In the context of the energy crisis, nuclear energy is becoming essential and both Bulgaria and the Visegrad Group countries share the position for its recognition as green, which is a necessary condition for ensuring the sustainability of the energy transition process.

Radev expressed his appreciation for the support of the Visegrad Group countries for Bulgaria's full membership in Schengen and expressed his position for an even closer partnership in the field of the EU migration policy, which should focus not only on migration flows to Europe, but also on joint work with the countries of origin of the migrants.

The risks to Europe's security arising from Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and approaches to tackle its negative social and economic consequences for EU Member States were also discussed during the meeting. 
The Visegrad Group was established in 1991 by the presidents of Czechoslovakia and Poland and the prime minister of Hungary. The creation of the format was motivated by the aspirations of the member states for sustainable economic development and increased regional cooperation. Intergovernmental cooperation within the group is coordinated by a Presidency, which is held by each member country on a rotating basis, with a mandate of one year. Currently, Czechia holds the Presidency.