At the South-Eastern Europe summit in Dubrovnik which ended today Bulgarian foreign minister Nickolay Mladenov laid emphasis on the ongoing reforms in the countries of the region in order to join the EU.

In his view this was an important part of the discussion after the European perspective for the Western Balkans was reaffirmed in Sarajevo a month ago.

Besides domestic reforms minister Mladenov singled out regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations as the other challenges facing the countries of the region.

The future member states of the EU should overcome the bilateral problems and contradictions that exist between them before their accession, minister Mladenov pointed out. Bilateral issues between the individual countries should be resolved before they join the EU.

During the forum minister Mladenov met the Greek deputy foreign minister Dimitras Droutsas with whom he discussed the preparation of the joint meeting of the Bulgarian and Greek governments which is scheduled for 27 July.

The Bulgarian foreign minister had also talks with Turkey’s European minister and chief negotiator of Turkey with the EU Egemen Bagus.