site.btaNational Assembly Chair Confers with Danish Minister for European Affairs Bjerre

Ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Bulgaria and Denmark and within the EU were discussed by National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova and the Minister for European Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark Marie Bjerre. Yordanka Fandakova, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Dimitar Gardev, Chairperson of the Committee on European Affairs and Control of European Funds, also took part in the meeting, said the parliament's press office on Thursday.

On the agendas were the upcoming Danish presidency of the Council of the European Union, defence spending, EU’s enlargement, support for Ukraine, the Multiannual Financial Frameworkand migration.

Bulgaria highly values the traditionally good relations with the Kingdom of Denmark, built on the basis of friendship and mutual trust, the Parliament chair said. “We welcome the further development of our bilateral political dialogue and the deepening of interaction on key issues on the global and European agenda,” Kiselova added. She said that this visit is extremely important because it is on the eve of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The leader of the National Assembly stressed that Bulgaria's position on key EU issues is consistent. “Our country maintains that the principle of unanimity, used in the decision-making process at all stages of the EU enlargement policy, should be maintained,” she added.

Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre, noted that her country would take over the presidency of the Council of the EU at an important moment when the geostrategic environment is complex. Europe needs to be more independent and stronger in terms of security and defence, Bjerre stressed. She hoped that the EU enlargement process would continue and noted that this should be on the basis of contributions and clear criteria. In her words, on migration Bulgaria and Denmark have similar positions.

Foreign Policy Committee Chair Yordanka Fandakova said that Bulgaria's top priority is to join the euro area on January 1 2026. As a second priority she pointed to Bulgaria's accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and said that Bulgaria will continue to rely on Denmark's support.

The chairman of the Committee on European Affairs and Control of European Funds Dimitar Gardev noted that it was extremely important for Bulgaria that the priorities, which were also outlined in the European Commission's programme, be consistently followed. “We believe that the cohesion policy should not become a victim of new policies, which are related, for example, to security and defence,” he added.

We support the initiatives of Denmark to strengthen the external borders, Dimitar Gardev said and noted that the migration policy is very important for Bulgaria as an external border of the EU. In his words, the Black Sea region is extremely important for the security of the EU and NATO. Bulgaria will actively participate in the elaboration of a Black Sea security strategy, he said.