Minister Vigenin: It is time for the Bulgarian-Turkish border control issue to reach a higher political level
23 October 2013 News
I have requested a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Turkey as it is time for the Bulgarian- Turkish border control issue to reach a higher political level. This was said by Minister Kristian Vigenin on the topic of Syrian refugees in the BNR morning programme. Vigenin emphasized that he has also raised the question to the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy. There are two aspects of the issue - one is providing a political support to Bulgaria in terms of the border control and the other is putting efforts for concluding the readmission agreement with Turkey since its signing would provide additional opportunities to Bulgaria to tackle the refugee flow to the country, Vigenin said. In this regard, he stated that the Syrian crisis and the refugee flow should not be connected to the negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union.
The foreign minister commented on the Eastern Partnership topic, and in particular Ukraine, in connection with his participation in the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. "In the worst-case scenario there is a certain possibility for new problems in terms of gas supplies between Russia and Ukraine to emerge, but now the situation is very different, and I do not think Russia would decide to affect once again in this way a number of EU Member States," he said. The head of the Bulgarian diplomacy stressed that Bulgaria supports Ukraine in terms of signing an Association Agreement between the country and the EU, but he emphasized that Ukraine is required to meet all its commitments first. The release of Yulia Tymoshenko from prison is a condition that cannot be compromised, Vigenin added.
"This hasty decision taken without the necessary preliminary analysis puts us in a really difficult situation,” the foreign minister commented the adoption of the proposal for a moratorium on the sale of land to foreigners. The way such decisions are made that can and will have serious consequences for the country and the attitude towards Bulgaria in the EU came as a surprise to me, said Vigenin, adding that this decision could discredit the country as Bulgaria has never before violated the commitments on the EU accession treaties. In his words, however, this is the decision of the highest institution in Bulgaria - the National Assembly, and the government has to comply with it and put it into practice.