Bulgaria, Greece and Romania work to achieve stability and growth in South East Europe
08 May 2014 News
The ninth trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania was held on 7 May in Thessaloniki. The three countries are currently holding the rotating presidencies respectively of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the EU and the South-East European Cooperation Process.
At the meeting, they also noted the results achieved during the Bulgarian Chairmanship-in-Office of BSEC. Kristian Vigenin, Evangelos Venizelos and Titus Corlățean shared the view that for the development of the region it is important to continue to regularly exchange ideas and cooperate closely in regional organizations, formats and initiatives, including SEECP and BSEC.
The top diplomats discussed the relations between the three countries and agreed to work together for expanding cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, cross-border cooperation, energy, tourism, regional infrastructure projects,transport, telecommunications, illegal immigration and the fight against corruption, cross-border and organized crime and human trafficking.
Among the topics of conversation were also the joint efforts to diversify energy sources and routes. The foreign ministers pledged to work together for the swift development of important regional energy infrastructure projects, including the construction of interconnectors between Bulgaria, Greece and Romania and the projects within the Southern Corridor.
Kristian Vigenin, Evangelos Venizelos and Titus Corlățean shared the view that the future of the region is in the EU and NATO and confirmed their strong support for the European and Euro-Atlantic perspectives of all candidate countries and potential candidate countries in meeting the membership criteria. Good neighborly relations and productive regional cooperation are key elements of the EU and NATO enlargement process, they said.
The foreign ministers of the three countries discussed also the situation in Ukraine, and reiterated their strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and reaffirmed their support for finding a solution to the current crisis by the means of politics and diplomacy. We support the efforts to conduct a meaningful dialogue aimed at finding a political solution and we call for an immediate implementation of of the agreements achieved at the Geneva meeting, they said.
The three countries have significant minorities in southern Ukraine and the concern for their rights and security was among the issues discussed, informed the Bulgarian Foreign Minister. These communities require us to have an active position, this was also an opportunity for the three of us to visit Ukraine in early March, days after the Ukrainian parliament approved the structure of the transitional government, added Minister Vigenin.
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