EU Foreign Ministers approved in principle the establishment of a European Fund for Democracy

 

The EU External Affairs Council today approved the creation of a European Fund for Democracy.

 

By doing so, the Council has reaffirmed the position taken at its June meeting and has welcomed the preparatory work carried out by the European External Action Service and the European Commission.

 

The Council also has invited the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU (COREPER) to accelerate the creation of the European Fund for Democracy.

 

Minister Nickolay Mladenov: A pause in the process of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans could lead to the whole region coming to a standstill

 
Today and the next few days are crucial to the future of the Balkans, and Bulgaria will play an active role in the process, Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov, in Brussels for a meeting of the EU External Affairs Council, said today.

In a letter to European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, Minister Mladenov expressed unequivocal support for a European Commission proposal to open membership negotiations with Montenegro.

The letter points out that the conditions are right for Montenegro to take the baton from Croatia and take the lead in the Western Balkans regatta in the name of the European future of the region.

Any pause in the enlargement process after the signing of the Accession Treaty with Croatia would lead to stagnation in the region, Minister Mladenov said.

For Bulgaria, it was also very important what would happen in the next few days in the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština.

We need to see progress in these, so that Serbia can take a step forward towards the EU, Mladenov said.

He hoped that there would be rapid progress in the talks, enabling the EU General Affairs Council and the European Council next week to give Serbia candidate country status.

 

Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov to be guest of honour at the first meeting of European diplomacy


Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov will this evening attend the first annual meeting of the European External Action Service in Brussels.
 
Mladenov, his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, will present their views on foreign policy.
 
European ambassadors from around the world, brought together by European Commission High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, will discuss with the three ministers - the guests of honour at the the event - Europe's challenges in a world of crisis and rapid changes.

Minister Mladenov in Brussels: Bulgaria wants to the truth about the trial of the Bulgarian medics in Libya to come out

The main challenge facing Libyan society will be bridging the gap between the eastern and western parts of the country, including as to how to deal with the past.

The truth about the trial of the Bulgarian medics in Libya must come out, Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said at today’s EU External Relations Council meeting in Brussels.

He said that a complex range of issues would be the topic of a conference in Sofia in December 2011 on how the countries of Central and Eastern Europe reflect on their totalitarian pasts. Their experience will be presented to participants from the Middle East and North Africa, including from Libya.

Events in the southern Mediterranean and in particular in Libya, Tunisia and Syria, were in focus at today’s External Affairs Council.

On Libya, Minister Mladenov said that the EU should continue its support on the basis of the following clear principles: Responsibility for the process itself in Libya, and co-ordination of international assistance, with the UN in the leading role.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister highlighted two areas in which it is necessary to provide emergency assistance to Libya - security and the health care system. He emphasised Bulgaria's readiness to lend support in health care.

On Syria, Foreign Minister Mladenov called for even closer co-operation with Gulf countries, as well as consultations with the Arab League.

Regarding Afghanistan, Minister Mladenov expressed support for Germany’s efforts in organising the Bonn Conference to be held on December 5 2011. He recalled the conclusions of the Kabul conference and drew attention to the need for the Afghan Government to assume its responsibility for the use of assistance, and in the same way to strengthen its overall credibility.

Bulgaria supported extending the mandate of EUPOL 2014 and backed the signing of a partnership and co-operation agreement with Afghanistan. Minister Mladenov outlined the assistance that Bulgaria is giving in Afghanistan through the EU, NATO and by participation in the Trust Fund for Afghanistan.

Earlier today, Minister Mladenov participated in a breakfast meeting of the Group for European Action on Moldova, where support was expressed for that country’s European perspective.

Mladenov spoke out in favour of the initiation of negotiations on the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), to be part of the future Association Agreement between the EU and Moldova. He emphasised the need to resume negotiations by the end of the year in the “5+2” format on Transnistria, in order to move towards a lasting settlement of this issue.

Tonight, Nickolay Mladenov is to take part in a high-level forum on enlargement policy, an initiative by the Foreign Ministers of Poland and of Sweden, Radoslaw Sikorski and Carl Bildt.

The forum aims to discuss measures to accelerate the expansion and to avoid the risk of it being pushed into the background by other important pressing issues.