site.btaIntegration and Solidarity Are Best Response to Peace, Security Threats, Said Mariya Gabriel

Integration and solidarity are the right response to threats to peace and security. This is what outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel said on Monday at the EU Meets the Balkans forum.

In her words, we need to be united more than ever. Integration in the EU, in the European common space of the rule of law, in the common market of goods, people, services and capital is the only viable path for the development of the Balkan region, Gabriel said. The complex geopolitical situation poses many challenges for all of us. It puts European and global security at risk, the Deputy Prime Minister added.

The EU has stepped up its multilateral political and financial support to the enlargement process, Gabriel said. In order to be able to maintain credibility in the enlargement process, it is important to keep talking about and sticking to the principle of progress on its own merits, which is at the heart of the enlargement process and policy methodology, she explained.

It is very important to continue active work to counter anti-European disinformation and propaganda, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Gabriel noted Bulgaria's support for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that over the past nine months there has been a constructive dialogue between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Achieving full normalization in relations between Serbia and Kosovo is key for the stability and prosperity of the whole region, she said.

Bulgaria is and will continue to be a reliable partner of the Western Balkans on their EU integration path, Mariya Gabriel added.