Bulgaria and Italy have common interests in the EU and Southeast Europe
18 September 2014 News
The political, economic and cultural ties between Bulgaria and Italy, as well as the interaction of the two countries in the EU were at the focus of today's meeting of Minister Daniel Mitov and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic in Sofia Marco Conticelli.
The migration pressure from Syria and Iraq, as well as from the African countries have become one of the highlights of our bilateral relations, since Bulgaria and Italy are sharing the responsibility to be external EU borders, said Minister Mitov. It is necessary to achieve full coordination in our actions towards developing a common and effective EU policy and strategy to tackle the migration problem.
The Italian Ambassador emphasized that the current EU migration policies should be brought in line with the realities in Bulgaria and Italy. It is necessary our countries to prepare a plan, concept and resources to deal with this increasingly serious problem. In this regard, the Italian diplomat reiterated the strong support of his country for Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area.
The Bulgarian top diplomat and the Italian Ambassador agreed that we have to work together within the EU but also very actively with third parties concerned in order to deal with the ongoing crisis. Ensuring lasting peace and economic stability is the only tool for halting the migratory flows, agreed the two diplomats.
Minister Mitov and Ambassador Conticelli also discussed energy and transport infrastructure projects in Southeast Europe, which are a top priority for both Bulgaria and Italy in the context of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian crisis. They discussed and agreed on the idea of a common European energy policy.
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