Bulgaria and France are strategic partners in the EU and NATO
15 September 2014 News
Bulgaria and France are strategic partners in the EU and NATO, agreed Minister Daniel Mitov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Bulgaria Xavier Lapeyre de Cabannes during a meeting held on Friday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Mitov welcomed the excellent state of Bulgarian-French relations and expressed confidence that they will continue to develop and deepen especially in view of the cooperation within the EU and NATO. He noted the signed in 2008 Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Governments of Bulgaria and France and expressed hope that the French side will soon reflect on the Roadmap project, suggested by Bulgaria, and its practical implementation.
They discussed the Bulgaria's preparation to take over the EU Presidency in 2018 and the idea for secondment of Bulgarian diplomats to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to benefit from the rich French experience in this field.
Minister Mitov and Ambassador Lapeyre de Cabannes also exchanged views on the situation in Iraq and Syria and the need to tackle the "ISIL" problem, which poses a direct threat not only to the region but for the EU as a whole. Minister Daniel Mitov reaffirmed Bulgaria's commitment in the fight against terrorism and emphasized that dealing with terrorist groups in the Middle East includes the development of a EU joint plan of action covering all neighboring countries to the conflict region.