28/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - Solomon Passy favours collective membership by EU to NATO. Bulgaria's former foreign minister and a founding member of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria, Solomon Passy, has called for collective membership by the EU to NATO. “We should begin thinking along qualitatively new lines which will contribute more to the globalisation of the EU. What I mean is that it would be very advantageous for the EU and for international policies if the EU were to decide to become a collective member of NATO, in the hope of reaching that goal some day”, he said in an interview published on 27 April by Sofia News Agency. Passy also said that Bulgaria supported strengthening the EU's international role and common defence policy - a process in which Sofia and the Bulgarian parliament would also like to play a constructive role. (A.By./transl.jl)