Minister Czaputowicz: Bulgaria’s success ahead of EU Presidency will be a success for Poland as well
15 January 2018 News
“Bulgaria's success in presiding over the Council of the EU will also be a success for Poland. Bulgaria will be a key country for us in the next six months and all states should support it,” Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said at a news conference emerging from a meeting with Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva.
Poland supports the priorities of the current Bulgarian Presidency of the Council, particularly its plans to develop the EU's relations with the Western Balkans, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said in Sofia on Monday. He gave a joint news briefing with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva during his one-day working visit here.
“I am happy that we share very similar views with Poland regarding our priorities for the countries of the Western Balkans. I want to thank them for supporting Bulgaria’s initiatives for the European perspective of the countries from the region," Bulgaria’s top diplomat said.
Ekaterina Zaharieva wished her Polish counterpart success on the foreign ministerial post and assured him that he can always count on Bulgaria’s friendship.
“Poland is an important country for the EU and a longstanding ally and friend of Bulgaria. Last week, a Pole, the European Council President, brought thousands, even millions of Bulgarians before the TV screen to tears. He did this by delivering his speech in Bulgarian during the official launch of the Bulgarian EU Presidency and he acted not only as a Council President but also as a Pole. This reconfirmed the feeling of closeness between the two peoples,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said in her statement.
The two ministers noted that the 100th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations will be marked in 2018. “I hope we will encourage our citizens to get together more frequently and they have been doing this, which is evident from the data about the bilateral tourist flow that has been continuously increasing,” Minister Zaharieva said on the occasion.
Within their plenary talks today the two ministers also discussed topics of the European agenda. “While holding the Presidency, it is very important for us to achieve progress regarding the dossiers that are important for all European nationals,” Deputy Prime Minister Zaharieva also said.
Bulgaria and Poland share similar views regarding the Common Defence and Security Policy, the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. “Our opinion is that this is one of the best and most important EU policies and it should continue into the next programming period. This is a policy of solidarity, economic growth and cohesion between the member states,” the Bulgarian Foreign Minister stressed.
Regarding the EU asylum policy and the protection of the bloc's external borders, Zaharieva noted that while holding the EU Presidency Bulgaria will make best efforts, so that the member states will move closer in their views on these matters and will finish their work on relevant measures and dossiers.
The two diplomats further discussed the Article 7 procedure against Poland which the European Commission opened on December 20 last year. Zaharieva said: "We are following the dialogue between Poland and the European Commission and I hope that together we can find a positive way out of this situation. Poland can count on our good intentions and impartiality regarding this issue." She hailed the Polish plan for meetings and talks with the European Commission.
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