Ekaterina Zaharieva to British Minister of State for Europe and America: “You are leaving the EU but not Europe”
14 July 2017 News
“You are leaving the European Union, but you are not leaving Europe. We count on the United Kingdom to continue to be our important partner in the fight against terrorism, in security and in trade and economic relations,” Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said, welcoming the British Minister of State for Europe and the Americas, Sir Alan Duncan, who is visiting Sofia.
Zaharieva stressed the importance that this country attaches to guaranteeing the rights of the nearly 80,000 Bulgarian citizens living in Great Britain in the Brexit negotiations. She said that it is important that the European Union should stay united in the negotiations and, in this connection, Bulgaria places its full trust in the team of EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier.
“You are quite right: we are leaving a club, not the region. We will be even more active in security cooperation and in trade,” Sir Alan said. He stressed that without the citizens of other European countries working in the United Kingdom, sectors like construction and healthcare will experience a serious manpower shortage. The Minister of State welcomed the keen interest shown by young Bulgarians in British universities.
“The preparations for the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council proceed on schedule. The Balkans is one of our priorities, and we hope to help the European perspective of the countries in the region,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said. She thanked the British Government for the support of the judicial reform and more specifically for the two prosecutors who last year shared in a mission of the Structural Reform and Support Service which produced an independent analysis of the structural and functional model of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria. This country will request further missions about the judiciary and will continue to rely on assistance from the United Kingdom. Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva also thanked for the British backing of Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen.
More photos
