Kristian Vigenin participated in the EU General Affairs Council
18 December 2013 News
Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Vigenin participated in the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, dealing with the preparation of the upcoming European Council meeting of 19-20 December.
Regarding the progress of the Western Balkan countries and Turkey on the path to European integration, Minister Vigenin pointed out the advancement in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and expressed support to the opening of accession negotiations with Serbia in 2014. He emphasized the importance of respecting the rights of minorities and sustaining good neighborly relations, stressing the enhanced political dialogue between Serbia and Bulgaria in recent months.
The Bulgarian top diplomat called for granting the status of candidate country to Albania, supporting the proposal the Council to discuss this issue again in March next year if there is a lack of consensus now.
As regards the Republic of Macedonia, the signing of a Treaty of friendship, cooperation and good- neighborliness which will enable Bulgaria to support the start of accession negotiations, remains a priority. In this context, Minister Vigenin expressed support to the draft conclusions, calling the Republic of Macedonia to take significant steps towards improving good neighborly relations. Minister Vigenin welcomed Montenegro's progress and expressed support for the opening of the next chapters, including the most difficult - 23 and 24, saying that the country can serve as an example to the other Western Balkan countries.
In this part of the discussion, Minister Vigenin welcomed the readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey, emphasizing that we expect its timely ratification and entry into force.
As regards the economic and social policy, the Minister said that Bulgaria will support the strengthening of the economic policy coordination in the structurally important areas, particularly in the field of science and innovation, education and others. He paid special attention to youth unemployment as one of the main challenges for the EU at the national level, which requires successive efforts. Minister Vigenin informed that our national plan for implementation of the youth guarantee is being finalized and is expected to be operational from January 2014.
In relation to the Economic and Monetary Union, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister referred to a number of important issues, related to strengthening the coordination of economic policies and reducing economic imbalances.
Regarding the migration flows, Bulgaria welcomes the extension of the European Council conclusions, which are taking into account all new challenges and are reinforcing the importance of the EU. The intensification of the cooperation with countries of origin and transit of migrants is essential for managing the migration flows and reducing the risk migrations to Europe, emphasized the Bulgarian Foreign Minister.