site.btaPrime Minister Glavchev to Attend European Council Meeting on December 19

Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev will attend a European Council meeting in Brussels on December 19, the government information service said. The meeting of the leaders of the member states will be chaired for the first time by new European Council President Antonio Costa. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to take part.

The situation in Ukraine will dominate the agenda. On the sidelines of the European Council meeting, Dimitar Glavchev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a Security Cooperation Agreement. The draft agreement was submitted to the National Assembly at the beginning of this week

Also at issue will be the situation in the Middle East, migration, EU enlargement, crisis prevention and management, EU-US relations.

The European Council will be preceded by an EU-Western Balkans summit, which will take place on Wednesday. Bulgaria welcomes the regular holding of meetings in this format, which are a follow-up of the 2018 Sofia Summit, the Council of Ministers said. Bulgaria supports the European perspective of all six Western Balkan countries, as well as advancing of sectoral cooperation with the region. The principle of own merits remains the strongest guarantee that the enlargement policy will maintain its transformative power in the interest of the citizens, the cabinet adds. Bulgaria places particular emphasis on good neighbourliness among the criteria for EU accession. Equally important is the effective guarantee of the rights of persons belonging to minorities and communities, the communication adds.