Bulgaria and Europe share common interests and responsibilities
07 June 2011 News
This was the statement Minister Nickolay Mladenov made at the 10th ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Asia-Europe (ASEM) dialogue forum, which takes place in Godollő, Hungary on 6-7 June.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister underlined the historical responsibility of Europe, Asia, and of the United Nations to revival international dialogue and disarmament in the Middle East and North Africa. “Europe must have a clear vision and individual approach to each country”, said Nickolay Mladenov and reiterated that changes in this region are only comparable to the changes in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism. He urged countries to support the efforts of the UN Secretary General for renewal of the dialogue within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament, in order to find a political solution in the Middle East and North Africa.
Reminding of what happened in Fukushima, Minister Mladenov stated that the issue of energy security has come forth yet again. He recalled the gas crisis of 2009 as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which had also affected Bulgaria. It made energy security a priority, continued the Foreign Minister, declaring that Bulgaria continues working towards the diversification of routes and supplies together with Austria, Germany, Turkey and Romania on the Nabucco Project, as well as in the direction of increasing reserves. Nickolay Mladenov expressed the support of the country for the full liberalization of the gas and electricity market in the European Union, which must focus its efforts on tackling the resulting challenges. In conclusion the Bulgarian Foreign Minister said that the reliability of partners cannot be questioned.