Kristian Vigenin at a hearing by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly
27 November 2013 News
Minister Kristian Vigenin participated in a special session of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. He answered questions by MPs on current foreign policy issues, including Bulgaria’s expectations from the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, the situation in Syria and the flow of refugees to our country, the stage of the negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia on the agreement on good neighbor relations and others.
According to Minister Vigenin, Ukraine's decision does not constitute a final retreat from the association process, yet just an interim suspension. The message from Bulgaria, to be delivered in Vilnius by the head of the Bulgarian delegation - President Plevneliev, is that EU’s door remains open. "Today at the meeting of the Council of Ministers I submitted and we approved the Association Agreement with Ukraine, which is a clear political signal of our support," added Kristian Vigenin.
The Foreign Minister was clear that the policy towards the Eastern neighbors will continue to be among the priorities of the Bulgarian government. In this regard, he informed the MPs about his recent visits to Moldova and Ukraine, as well as the visit of the Georgian Foreign Minister to Sofia at the beginning of the week.
Minister Vigenin briefed the MPs on the stage of the negotiations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia on signing the agreement on good neighbor relations. "The government's position on this issue is characterized by a high degree of continuity. Our Macedonian and European partners are well aware that we can not give Skopje a green light to start negotiations before signing the contract," he added.
Asked by a MP about the current situation in Syria, Minister Kristian Vigenin defined as a positive sign the successful development of the process of destruction of the chemical weapons, which is a good foundation for taking further steps. "We have particular interest to restore peace as soon as possible as Bulgaria is currently struggling with the consequences of the crisis, but the reason is in Syria itself," he said.
A number of questions by the MPs were focused on consular issues. In his response, the Foreign Minister pointed out that the report based on the comprehensive review of the consular services and the visa policy conducted recently is expected to be delivered soon.
"Our goal is to achieve a more adequate allocation of the capabilities of the Foreign Ministry with regard to the consular services, including through strengthening the structure of the relevant services or opening mobile consular offices during the summer season," the Minister explained.