Italy supports Bulgaria's accession to Schengen
23 May 2014 News
Minister Kristian Vigenin met with his Italian counterpart Federica Mogherini during his visit to Rome. They discussed a range of issues and shared the opinion that the relations between Italy and Bulgaria are progressively developing in recent years. The aim is to strengthen not only the economic cooperation and the joint participation in different formats, but also to coordinate the policies of both countries, especially within the EU. It was emphasized that there are many common positions - regarding the enlargement of the Union, the neighborhood policy - both to the Southern Mediterranean and to the partners in the East.
They also expressed similar positions on the crisis in Ukraine and the development of the EU's relations with Russia. "We particularly rely that the winner of the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine will obtain international legitimacy in order to exercise his undeniable right to represent Ukraine both externally and internally, andt his will contribute to a large extent to the ongoing discussions about the constitutional reform, the rights of the regions, to stabilize the political and economic situation," said Vigenin after the meeting. The two ministers agreed that in case there is a positive development in Ukraine, the need for a gradual normalization of the EU-Russia relations will become part of the agenda.
They reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to the Trans-Adriatic pipeline and the South Stream project. The two ministers said that Italy and Bulgaria will work together on Corridor 8 and the Italian side pledged to strengthen its political support for its implementation. Mogherini and Vigenin said that it is time to pay more attention tothe East-West links because until now the focus was on the North-South direction.
In connection with the Italian Presidency in the second half of the year, they discussed two important topics of mutual interest. and mainly the EU policy regarding migration. The two countries share many common interestsin this area and will work together on ideas for sharing the responsibility by all EU member states,so that the main burden doesn’t fall entirely on the countries on the southern borders of the Union. Italy fully supports our desire to become part of the Schengen agreement and all the reasons for this decision to be taken in the autumn are available. Federica Mogherini said that Italy is ready to support the inclusion of this issue in the European agenda.
Minister Kristian Vigenin praised yesterday's meeting between representatives of the Bulgarian and Italian business in the headquarters of Confindustria (General Confederation of Italian Industry), in which participated the Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva. Both sides expressed willingness to further increase the economic exchange between Bulgaria and Italy.
The two ministers expect that the positive spirit in the relations between the two countries will be reinforced at the upcoming meeting between the prime ministers Matteo Renzi and Plamen Oresharski on 28 May. Mogherini accepted the invitation of Minister Vigenin to visit Bulgaria.
The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Bulgaria to Italy and San Marino, Marin Raykov, the Director General for European Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Andrey Tehov, and the Head of the Political Cabinet of the Minister, Rosen Rufev.
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