Ekaterina Zaharieva to her Balkan counterparts: “There is no alternative to the European perspective for the region”
30 June 2017 News
“There is no alternative to the European perspective for the countries in the Balkans. The Bulgarian Presidency will do everything possible and will be making efforts so that this perspective would become more tangible,” Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said, addressing a Meeting of South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Dubrovnik today.
Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva is part of a government delegation, headed by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which is in the Republic of Croatia for the Final Meetings of the Croatian SEECP Presidency.
In her statement, Zaharieva stressed the exceptional role of the forum for political dialogue among the countries in the region and highlighted the place of the South-East Europe Cooperation Process in Bulgarian foreign policy as one of the greatest achievements in multilateral cooperation over the last two decades.
“It is with great satisfaction that I would like to note that the existing continuity in the priorities of the previous, present and next presidencies targets the need of active cooperation in South-East Europe. The three main components: transport, energy and social policy, are a step to making the region more attractive to foreign investments,” the chief Bulgarian diplomat said further.
Zaharieva also stressed the particular benefits of the three areas of cooperation. The development of transport infrastructure increases competitiveness and improves the mobility of services. The energy projects and the plans to build the Balkan Gas Hub will contribute to the sustainable development and diversification of the entire region. Specific objectives, too, will have to be set to the coordination of social policies and the planned meeting of social ministries’ experts in Sofia in November 2017.
In Zaharieva’s words, “the SEECP characteristic feature, based on the principle of regional affiliation, enables the organisation to successfully act as the authentic voice of the countries of South-East Europe and thus lends significant legitimacy to its actions and determination within the framework of dialogue with the EU. At this point, the SEECP is the leading political cooperation format in South-East Europe, a factor of security, stability and prosperity in the region, and a priority factor with regard to the European integration of the Balkan countries.”
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