An EU General Affairs Council is held in Brussels
21 May 2024 News
Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov represented Bulgaria at today's ordinary meeting of the EU's General Affairs Council in Brussels.
European ministers of the member states held an exchange of views with Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Cristina Gerasimov, who briefed on the country's progress in the reform process in relation to European integration.
The General Affairs Council discusses Poland's rule of law procedure under Article 7 of the EU Treaty. Poland provided detailed information on progress made in implementing the country's Rule of Law Action Plan. On this basis, the European Commission informed of its intention to withdraw its reasoned Article 7 proposal as there is no longer a clear risk of serious breaches of the rule of law in Poland. The EC will continue to closely monitor the country's progress in the framework of the Annual Rule of Law Dialogue. ‘Bulgaria strongly believes in the dialogue and constructive engagement of the member states, which will allow a credible response to emerging problems in the area of the rule of law. Bulgaria supports the Commission’s intention to withdraw its proposal under Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland’, Deputy Minister Kondov pointed out in his statement on the subject.
The Council has started preparations for the upcoming regular meeting of European leaders at the end of June. The agenda of the European Council includes: Ukraine; Security and Defence; Competitiveness with a focus on the Capital Markets Union; External Relations, incl. Middle East; and the constitution of European institutions after the European Parliament elections. On Ukraine, the focus is expected to be on defence support to the country, the use of proceeds from blocked Russian assets, the results of the Ukraine Peace Summit, Ukraine's European integration process and the preparation of a bilateral EU-Ukraine summit. ‘Bulgaria expects the European Council to send a strong message of long-term support in this difficult period for Ukraine. Work should be done to formulate an EU strategy for the Black Sea region, including in view of the changed situation as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine’, the Bulgarian deputy foreign minister stressed. Deputy Minister Kondov stressed the need for the EU to send a strong message to the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia to strictly implement the commitments and to undertake without delay the necessary reforms as the most important condition for the European integration of the country.
The European ministers also discussed efforts to counter attempts at foreign interference in the upcoming European elections in June 2024.
During his visit to Brussels, Deputy Minister Ivan Kondov held a bilateral meeting with the Hungarian Minister for European Affairs Janusz Boka. The two diplomats discussed the programme and the priorities of the upcoming Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will start on 1 July 2024. The Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister briefed his Hungarian counterpart on the Bulgarian positions on the current issues on the European agenda.
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