Bulgaria and Poland will work for the development of the regional transport and energy infrastructure in Southeastern Europe, which will connect the Baltic sea with the Mediterranean and Black seas. This was the common position shared by Presidents Rosen Plevneliev and Andzrej Duda, who held talks at 2 Dondukov street today. President Andzrej Duda is on an official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgarian Head of State.
The European Energy Union is not only an idea for a common EU energy policy, but is also a strong tool for strengthening the political integration not only within the EU, but also with the Western Balkan countries, Rosen Plevneliev emphasized. Bulgaria and Poland share common positions on the energy security and diversification issues and support the establishment of an integrated regional gas market. The better connectivity of the energy and gas-transit systems is the only way to overcome the monopoly and dependence on one supplier, the two Presidents said.
Rosen Plevneliev reiterated that the construction of the gas inter-connectors between Bulgaria and Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey is a priority for the Bulgarian government and is an integral part of the future South-North corridor. Another topic discussed at the meeting was also the opportunities for connecting the regional gas market of the countries from the Visegrad four with the energy infrastructure of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece.
The trade exchange between the two countries has doubled in the past five years and from 670 million euros in 2010 it reached 1.3 billion euros in 2015, it emerged at the meeting. The two countries reconfirmed their readiness to encourage the direct contacts between the small and medium enterprises. Bulgaria is a traditional destination for Polish tourists and 260,000 Polish tourists visited the Bulgarian resorts in 2015. President Plevneliev voiced hope that their number will double in 2016.
The Head of State thanked for the active bilateral cooperation in the defense sector, and also for Poland’s support for extending the airworthiness of the Bulgarian MiG-29 fighters. The opportunity for a follow-up modernization of the Bulgarian fighters was also discussed at the meeting.
The two shared the opinion that the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw is extremely important for the Eastern European countries. The Bulgarian Head of State highlighted the necessity that NATO should have an increased presence in Central and Eastern Europe, and also that more joint military training and exercises should be conducted. Rosen Plevneliev reiterated Bulgaria’s commitment to implement the decision made at the summit in Wales for a stage-by-stage increase of the budget expenditures on defense from 1,35 percent of the GDP in 2016 to 2 percent in 2024.
The position shared by the two Presidents was that Bulgaria and Poland firmly support the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Both Rosen Plevneliev and Andzrej Duda emphasized that it is the Ukrainian people alone that have the right to determine their future. The Bulgarian Head of State also said that it is extremely important for our country that the rights of the minorities in Ukraine be guaranteed in line with the European standards.
The two Heads of State reiterated that the forthcoming resumption of the meetings within the NATO-Russia Council is very important for easing the tension in the relations. Both Rosen Plevneliev and Andzrej Duda noted the necessity to defend the principles and values of the EU and NATO in the cases when “rules are violated.” In reply to a question related to the increased number of incidents in which Russian aircraft is involved in the Baltic and Black seas, both Presidents called on Russia to ensure more predictability of its actions.
In reply to a question whether the offshore zones should be closed down, President Plevneliev emphasized that the EU “has achieved a lot in this direction and the new initiative of five member states for ensuring full transparency should be hailed. Bulgaria will most probably be one of the engines for ensuring it.” The Head of State recalled that the Bulgarian legislation limits the opportunities for offshore companies to participate in the economic life and to implement public contracts. “With its 10 percent income tax and 10 percent profit tax Bulgaria provides good opportunities for the private business and the entrepreneurs to work in an honest manner,” Rosen Plevneliev further emphasized.
The migration crisis was also discussed at the meeting and the Bulgarian Head of State called on for adopting a proactive approach, which should focus on eliminating the causes for the migration flows. “We should not react post-factum, Europe should act in a categorical manner to resolve the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa,” the Head of State said. President Plevneliev reiterated the necessity for working out a European mechanism to draw a distinction between the refugees and the economic migrants and emphasized that the protection of the external EU borders does not clash with granting asylum to those who are escaping from war. President Duda voiced the Republic of Poland’s position against the compulsory relocation of migrants in Europe. “If the asylum-seekers request asylum in Poland in particular, I do not doubt that they will be granted one. However, we do not accept that they should be subject to coercive detention and relocation,” the Polish President further said.
President Plevneliev awarded President Duda the Stara Planina order with ribbon for his contributions to the development of the bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Poland. The two Heads of State were unanimous that the relations between the Bulgarian and the Polish people are based on deep historical and cultural ties and today Bulgaria and Poland are an example not only of bilateral friendly and partnership relations, but also of such relations within the EU and NATO.
Within the framework of his official visit in Bulgaria, President Andzrej Duda will hold meetings with National Assembly Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.