Bulgaria and Hungary to step up energy cooperation
17 July 2017 News
Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva conferred in Brussels with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. The two discussed bilateral relations, opportunities for deeper economic and energy cooperation, as well as the prospects for the Western Balkans.
Zaharieva and Szijjártó stressed the need to step up work on regional energy projects, which would make it possible to diversify both supply routes and sources. The European Commission has already supported the Bulgarian initiative for a Balkan Gas Hub, which would contribute to building a competitive and liberalised gas market. Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva overviewed plans for the construction of gas interconnectors and LPG terminals in the region.
The two ministers also discussed their interaction with regard to the Western Balkans during the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2018 and of the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group for 12 months, starting 1 July 2017.
“Giving the countries a European perspective is the only way for the region,” Zaharieva emphasised. The Balkans’ European perspective is prioritised by both the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group and the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council.
Regarding migration, Minister Zaharieva stressed that this is a problem for the entire Union and requires Europewide solutions, on which Bulgaria has been insisting back since 2013.
Minister Szijjártó stressed the excellent relations between Budapest and Sofia in the field of business. Hungary is among Bulgaria’s important economic partners and ranks among the top ten home countries of foreign investment, with a stock of 1,114.5 million euro direct investments for the 2002-2017 period and two-way trade for 2016 at 1,388.0 million euro.
According to official statistics, the Bulgarian community in Hungry is 6,000-strong and is one of the 13 officially recognised minorities in that country.
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