Kristian Vigenin held talks with the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague
17 January 2014 News
On the second day of his official visit to London, Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin held meetings with the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague,and the Minister of State for Europe, David Lidington. The program of the Bulgarian Foreign Minister also included meetings with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude , the Chairmen of European Affairs Committees in both Houses of Parliament - Lord Boswell and William Cash, and the Chair of the British-Bulgarian All-Party Parliamentary Group, sir Kevin Barron.
The key message of Minister Vigenin to his partners in the UK was the call of our country for sending positive messages and intensifying the bilateral political dialogue, for focusing on areas and issues on which the two countries share close or coinciding positions, as well as for strengthening the bilateral partnership in EU and NATO.
In light of the expiry of working restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals on 1 January, the two sides acknowledged the positive contribution that most Bulgarians currently in the UK make to the economy.Minister Vigenin reiterated Bulgaria’s position that the free movement of people in the EU on a non-discriminatory basis is an important part of the Single Market and a factor for growth, competitiveness and jobs.In response, Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed that the British government will adhere to the implementation of the decision to remove restrictions on the labor market for Bulgarian citizens, and that the introduction of any changes in the social security system will not have a discriminatory nature. Kristian Vigenin particularly referred to the problem of frozen loans and scholarships to Bulgarian students in the UK and received an assurance from William Hague that the issue of Bulgarian students who meet the necessary requirement will be positively resolved soon.
A special emphasis in the talks of the Bulgarian Foreign Minister was put on thebilateral Energy Dialogue, especially in the context of Bulgaria’s ambitions to increase the diversity of its energy supply.
During the talk with Minister Francis Maude, the opportunities for further development of Bulgaria’s cooperation with the United Kingdom in the field of e-government were outlined, as well as ways to enhance transparency and to intensify the dialogue with the civil society in the preparation and adoption of legislative acts.
At the meeting agenda of Minister Vigenin, subjects, related to the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU were discussed, namely the Enlargement Process, the European perspective of the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership, the situation in Syria, the refugee problem and others.
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