site.btaUPDATED FM Gabriel Visits Helsinki, Meets Counterpart Valtonen, PM Orpo

Visiting Helsinki Tuesday, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel met with Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, she said on social media. 

"We discussed EU enlargement policy, the multiannual financial framework and strategic agenda," Gabriel wrote after the meeting with Orpo. She also said that the four priorities they identified were the single market; security and defence; clean energy and circular economy;  and innovation and digitalization. 

Gabriel also said that she discussed with Foreign Minister Valtonen innovation, digitalization, deep tech,  EU enlargement,  cooperation within NATO and ensuring stability in the Black Sea region, and support for Ukraine. 

The top Bulgarian diplomat thanked Helsinki for its support for Bulgaria's accession to Schengen.

Also on Tuesday, Gabriel is due to attend a ceremony where Bulgaria will join the Helsinki-based Hybrid Center of Excellence (Hybrid CoE).

Hybrid CoE is an autonomous, network-based international organization countering hybrid threats. 

The decision for Bulgaria to apply for Hybrid CoE membership was made in late April 2023 by the then caretaker government in Sofia. Bulgaria has been the only EU member state not represented in the organization. The nation's interest in joining it increased as a result of the changing European security architecture. The Hybrid CoE Steering Board unanimously approved the country's membership bid on May 26, 2023.

Hybrid CoE was established in 2017 in Helsinki. It involves EU member states and NATO allies. It supports the building of operational capabilities through training and practical exercises of experts from participating countries and enables EU-NATO joint work and exercises, covering a wide range of activities in the civil and military sectors, from countering malicious influences to hybrid warfare.