Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva: “The EU Is the Best Place to Live”
11 July 2019 News.jpg)
“The Eastern Partnership countries have achieved significant results, but more remains to be done. Partners should continue moving forward, but the European Union, too, should have a vision about the future of the Eastern Partnership: what will follow after 2020.” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva made this statement at the 16th Batumi International Conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative. Senior politicians of the EU Member States and of the EaP countries, business executives, academics and non-governmental sector representatives gathered in Georgia for the forum.
Ekaterina Zaharieva discussed the achievements and European future of the EaP countries together with her foreign minister colleagues of Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The discussants described the Eastern Partnership as one of the most successful initiatives and emphasised that partners must continue to develop their relations consistently and with new ideas for the future.
“The Eastern Partnership is an excellent good-neighbour initiative aimed at building bridges and increasing connectivity between the countries,” Zaharieva stressed. “It has changed mentality in these countries, but they still face the challenge of building stability within their societies.”
Among the EaP achievements, Zaharieva singled out the Association Agreements/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements signed in 2014 between the EU and three of the partner countries: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as the partnership agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan. She stressed the visa waivers for citizens of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine and the visa facilitation for nationals of Armenia and Azerbaijan
“Trade between the EU and the EaP partners has grown incredibly in recent years, and thousands of young people from these countries have received their education in the EU,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said. She noted the key importance of teaching young people critical thinking for the development of democracy – not only for the countries in the region but also for the European Union at large. “We must fight for democracy every day. The EU is the best place to live, but we must do more, and young people have a very important role in this respect,” she emphasised.
Ekaterina Zaharieva pointed out that Bulgaria is a strong advocate of EU enlargement but, needless to say, enlargement depends on particular conditions. “This is a two-way street,” the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister stressed. “It is not only up to the EU but also to the applicant countries.” Addressing the hosts, she said that both Georgia and the Western Balkans belong to Europe, and she acknowledged the country’s tangible progress in recent years. The Deputy Prime Minister singled out the key significance of the judicial reform and the advancement of civil society for the country’s progress towards European integration.
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