BULGARIA’S PRIME MINISTER MET HIS ROMANIAN COUNTERPART

The participation of Bulgaria and Romania in strengthening the eastern flank of NATO, migration crisis and cooperation in the energy area were among the topics discussed at the meeting between Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos on 1st of June in Sofia.

Ciolos was in Bulgaria to participate in the summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), held in Sofia.

The two agreed on joint efforts aimed at dropping Canada’s visa requirements for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens.

Dacian Ciolos said that Bulgaria and Romania worked equally well on safeguarding the border crossings and praised the Bulgarian PM for the way the country tackled migration flow.

“You are safeguarding the EU external border like a Schengen country, which is an advantage for the EU and Romania as well”, he said.

Boyko Borissov said that in practice the two countries showed they managed the issue no worse, even better than many Schengen countries.

The two PMs agreed on joint action on strengthening the eastern flank of NATO and joint drills in the territory of the Black Sea.

They both stressed the importance of the agreement signed two days ago on the construction of the gas interconnector link between the two countries. The deadline is to have it completed within two and a half - three months. We committed both to watch closely this process, Borissov said.

The two PMs said they would prepare a joint letter to the Canadian government with an invitation for visit by ministers and joint actions with the EU for lifting the Canadian visas for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens.