Bulgaria, Italy: Only a United EU Can Tackle the Crisis
07 July 2020 News.jpg)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva and Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, discussed the consequences of COVID-19 in Europe, measures for emerging from the crisis and the possibility of Bulgaria and Italy starting a debate in the EU on the adoption of common criteria for the closing of the Union’s internal and external borders during the pandemic.
“We already have improved coordination at European level, but the EU should have common criteria on when Member States should close the borders between one another. Countries have very different criteria right now. We talked about initiating a debate on this topic even though this is not a direct responsibility of foreign ministers,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
She went on to point out the need for the EU to adopt its budget and the crisis recovery plan more quickly in view of the fact that people and businesses need help now.
“This crisis has demonstrated how closely linked we all are. No economy can tackle its consequences on its own,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
“We would not be able to tackle the crisis without unity in the EU,” the Italian Foreign Minister agreed. “We agree that the EU should work in a spirit of unity to save our economies. Cooperation within the EU is of key importance to the future of the continent,” Luigi Di Maio said.
The two ministers stated categorically that Bulgaria and Italy should work together to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus in sectors such as tourism and as regards the bilateral trade.
“The economy and tourism are extremely important for our countries. There is an excellent bond between the people of Bulgaria and Italy, which is strengthened by those people from each country who live in the other,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said.
Luigi Di Maio noted that Italian businesses in Bulgaria felt secure during the crisis and chose not to leave the country.
Italy ranks fourth in terms of its direct investments in Bulgaria, these amounting to EUR 2.687 billion at the end of 2019, while bilateral trade stood at EUR 4.694 billion in 2019. In 2019, 243 500 Bulgarians visited Italy and 156 564 Italians traveled to Bulgaria.
The ministers also discussed cooperation in power generation and the need to diversify the sources and delivery routes of energy resources.
The European integration of the western Balkans, which is supported by both countries, the migration problem and the situation in Libya also received discussion.
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