Official visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Vigenin to Hungary
21 November 2013 News
Our bilateral relations are in an excellent condition and based on a solid foundation. The EU and NATO membership of Hungary and Bulgaria, the deep historical and cultural ties between the two nations are a favorable condition for the traditionally good cooperation in all areas. This was said by Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin at the beginning of today’s meeting with his Hungarian counterpart János Martonyi.
Vigenin expressed gratitude for the help from Hungary, regarding the acute problems in Bulgaria with the Syrian refugees, as well as for the inclusion of the topic of proving assistance to the countries of the South-Eastern borders of the EU in the conclusions of the last European Council.
In his words, our country highly appreciates the consistent support of Hungary for Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area. According to him, the undisputed readiness for membership has been recognized by most countries in the EU. "Bulgaria has invested significant European and national funding to provide the necessary technical equipment and to meet the criteria for Schengen accession," Kristian Vigenin said. The Foreign Minister emphasized that we will continue to carry the burden, including financial, from the membership in the space without borders and the protection of an important part of the southern external border of the EU, as Bulgaria continues to build on the Schengen standards and to apply the best practices in the field.
Minister Vigenin presented also the main priorities, on which the Bulgarian government is currently working. He pointed out that in the medium term the aim is to achieve energy independence and efficiency. In his words, Bulgaria supports the idea of establishing a common energy market in Central Europe and to expand it to the region of Southeast Europe. We share the view that a coherent external energy policy of the EU, which is based on diversification of sources and routes of supply of natural gas, can serve as a basic prerequisite for energy security.
The construction of the Southern Corridor as a priority of the EU, the South Stream Pipeline and the interconnectors with neighboring countries - Romania, Turkey, Serbia and Greece, are a subject of interest and consistent work from our side. On his part, János Martonyipointed out the need to consider the idea of building a gas corridor connecting Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, which can be an alternative to the conceived Nabucco project.
During the meeting with his host, Vigenin emphasized that we rely on Hungary for expanding the cooperation framework within the Visegrád Group, as well as for assisting for the more active involvement of Bulgaria in the process of policy coordination within the format.
Within the framework of his official visit to Budapest, Minister Kristian Vigenin held talks with the President of the Hungarian Parliament László Kövér. They shared the assessment of the good cooperation between the institutions of Hungary and Bulgaria, while expressing the desire for their intensification. A major emphasis was placed on the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries, not only at the level of friendship groups, but also between the relevant committees of the two parliaments. Minister Vigenin thanked Hungary for supporting the Bulgarian minority in the country and said that Hungary is an example of a good attitude towards all recognized minorities. They emphasized the need to promote cooperation between the Bulgarian and the Hungarian representatives in EP, as well as between the representation of the two countries in all EU formats.
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