site.btaVisiting French Secretary of State for European Affairs Laurence Boone: France Supports EU Enlargement

France supports the EU enlargement, as it will strengthen the continent’s security, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Laurence Boone said on Thursday after a meeting with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bulgaria can use its own experience to support the Western Balkans towards their EU accession, Boone noted, adding that all should work together for the European orientation and faster accession of those countries in EU.

France recognizes Bulgaria's outstanding contribution to strengthening security on Europe's southeastern flank and in the Black Sea within NATO in the context of tensions in Ukraine, on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, and across the Mediterranean, Boone said.

She expressed France's support for Bulgaria's efforts to implement its internal reforms in order to join the Schengen area and the eurozone.

Boone stressed that it is time for Bulgaria and France to deepen their cooperation. "We want to work together on responses to [various] challenges - climate, energy diversification, the need to turn Europe into an industrial power, to strengthen its sovereignty in the face of the struggle for supremacy, Boone also said.

“We must strongly condemn the terrible Hamas attacks on Israel and express our sympathy for the victims”, she added.