On Wednesday 8 November, the Bulgarian government presented its programme for its first ever Presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of 2018, under the slogan 'United we stand strong'.
“This slogan is not just for Bulgaria, we want it for the whole of the EU. The unity of the EU and its member states can only make us stronger”, explained the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boïko Borissov. “For me, there is only one message: only by standing united can we keep the EU strong”, added the Bulgarian Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, who is in charge of the Digital Society and Economy.
Borissov went on to outline his programme. One of his country's priorities concerns its own region, the Balkans, as he hopes to integrate the Western Balkans within the EU. He feels that the time is right to bring the Balkan Peninsula into the EU, with the United Kingdom getting ready to leave it, highlighting the “fantastic” resources and nature of the region, and its “working population”. “It's now or never. The subject has not been on the agenda for many years. Now's our chance, as the Austrian and Romanian Presidencies will follow us; this is a rare chance”, he added. He hopes that the EU and the Balkans will move forward on infrastructure, competitiveness and he also referred to the end of roaming within the Western Balkans. Under the Bulgarian Presidency, the first ever EU-Western Balkans (Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina) summit will take place on 17 May.
For his part, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that Bulgaria played a central role in the complicated Balkan region. “We must keep open the European prospect of the countries of the Western Balkans (…). However, I would like this European perspective to be seen not as an invitation, but as a continental necessity in the countries in question”, he explained. And, he added, while none of the six countries will be able to join the EU between now and 2019, Serbia and Montenegro will be members of the EU before 2025.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister also stressed security matters, related to migration flows - with his country sharing a border with Turkey - cyber-defence and defence proper. He stressed that the permanent enhanced cooperation would be developed under the Bulgarian Presidency.
The forthcoming Presidency also intends to continue the Estonian Presidency's work on the digital single market. Gabriel, who is in charge of this dossier, hailed this decision. She stressed a “strong, unified and digitised” Europe. She also pointed out that under the Bulgarian Presidency, negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the EU would continue and those on the multi-annual financial framework will start.
The next Schengen report is very positive for Sofia
At the joint meeting, the College of Commissioners and members of the Bulgarian government also discussed bilateral relations between the Commission and Bulgaria. For instance, Juncker announced that the report to be published next week concerning the country's progress towards accession to the Schengen zone, the sixth of its kind, would be very positive.
Similarly, the Commission President said that Bulgaria was ready to join the Eurozone and that if it applied to do so, he would support it. Juncker welcomed Bulgaria's budgetary performances, stressing that its government debt stands at just 29%, which is lower than that of many Eurozone countries. Borissov announced that the debt would in fact fall even further “in the next year or two”. He went on to say that his country met the criteria.
The 'Sea2Sea' high-speed rail project between Bulgaria and Greece, and the Corridor 8 project to connect Tirana, Albania, with Varna, Bulgaria, were also central to the talks. “We will support Sea2Sea in various ways”, Juncker announced, but declined to go into any details. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)