Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and Poland
24 February 2015 News
Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Poland at the level of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs were held on 24 February in Warsaw. The Bulgarian delegation was headed by Rumen Alexandrov, and the Polish side by Henryka Mościcka-Dendys. The consultations are an affirmation of the partnership between the two countries and reflect the excellent cooperation both on bilateral level and within the European Union.
During their Warsaw talks, the ministers discussed a wide range of issues of European and bilateral agenda. They focused on the idea of creating European energy union, including ensuring the European energy security, the Investment Plan for Europe, the situation in Ukraine, security issues, combating terrorism, migration, European integration of the Western Balkans. The two sides discussed the European Neighbourhood Policy in the context of its review and the Summit in Riga in May. During the meeting, the ministers praised the bilateral relations, including the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Deputy Ministers Rumen Alexandrov and Henryka Mościcka-Dendys expressed their support for the idea of creating a European Energy Union. They focused on the idea of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania for the construction of a Vertical Gas Corridor and ways to connect the Southern Gas Corridor to the transmission network of the Visegrad and the Baltic countries and in the context of the initiative of the Visegrad countries to build a regional gas market. Both sides agreed that the issue will have a priority importance for Poland within the Visegrad.
Deputy Minister Alexandrov focused on the security situation in the context of the increased external risks. There are important additional elements in support of Bulgaria’s membership in the Schengen area related to the security and the fight against terrorism, including the benefits from the full access to the databases of SIS, VIS and Eurodac. In this context, Poland reiterated its support and readiness to find a positive solution for Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen. The ministers discussed also issues related to the functioning of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism; solidarity and responsibility-sharing in migration policy; the situation in Ukraine.
Focusing on energy security, the ministers discussed possible cooperation between countries for the regional and European dimension of the problem. The talks have been important given the potential of the two countries in a geopolitical context.
The Polish side demonstrated particular interest in cooperation with Bulgaria during the preparation of the Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council, especially regarding the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework after 2020.