EU foreign ministers reaffirm their pursuit of the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency towards integration of the Western Balkans
31 August 2018 News
The Foreign Ministers of the EU reiterated once again their willingness to pursue the priority of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU: the integration of the Western Balkans. During the second day of the Gymnich informal meeting in Vienna, the top diplomats sat down together with their counterparts from the candidate countries.
Bulgaria called for strengthening cooperation with the Western Balkans on the basis of the commitments assumed at the summit Meeting in Sofia, especially with respect to connectivity.
‘Today we had a very fruitful debate, and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU was congratulated on making so visible the matter of the European integration of the region. The meeting reconfirmed that during the Austrian Presidency, as well as during the Romanian and Croatian Presidencies, this will continue,’ Minister Zaharieva said. ‘We expect progress towards the visa liberalization for Kosovo. We pay serious attention to the upcoming referendum on the name of the Republic of Macedonia and the beginning of the actual membership negotiations with Skopje and Tirana, as was decided during the Bulgarian Presidency.’
The ministers congratulated Bulgaria on the adoption of the Sofia Declaration of May 2018 and the Sofia Agenda. In the coming months, efforts should be directed towards the full implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborly Relations between Sofia and Skopje. They pointed out that the dialog between Pristina and Belgrade has no viable alternative and should lead to a binding agreement. Stability and security in the region are paramount.
The top EU diplomats also discussed matters of migration. They all expressed their willingness for Operation Sophia, designed to counteract human trafficking and fight traffickers of illegal migrants in the Mediterranean, to continue. It is important that the EU should adhere to a balanced geographic approach towards migration, Minister Zaharieva said.