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Presidents Plevneliev and Hollande: After the Referendum in Great Britain, the EU Should Be Strengthened and Get a New Dose of Trust

After the referendum in Great Britain, the EU should be strengthened and get a new dose of trust. We should avoid the worst crisis – the moral one, President Rosen Plevneliev said, who held talks with French President Francois Hollande today. The Head of State is on an official visit to the French Republic. In President Hollande’s view, the European project should be protected from the insecurity after the referendum held in the UK. “Although we should continue to show a friendly attitude, we should be aware of the next moves we are to make,” the French Head of State commented.   

President Rosen Plevneliev said that currently it is important to launch new European integration projects, such as the European Energy Union and the Common Digital Union. It is also extremely important that the process of EU enlargement should continue, it was highlighted at the meeting. “The weakening of the European project and the lack of European prospects for the partner countries in the region could lead to destabilization,” the Head of State warned.
 The President said that Bulgaria actively and consistently supports the process of EU enlargement. Strictly meeting the criteria of EU membership, according to the individual achievements of each country, continues to be a prerequisite for assessing the progress made, the Head of State said. President Hollande has initiated a summit in Paris on 4 July, at which the Balkans will be discussed, it emerged at the meeting.

Bulgaria relies on France’s support for its Schengen accession, President Plevneliev said at the meeting in the Elysee Palace. France’s decision on the matter is still linked to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

As for the migration crisis, Rosen Plevneliev and Francois Hollande voiced their expectation that the assumed commitments will be fulfilled. “All EU member states should show maximum solidarity to those who are first to bear the migration pressure because the external EU borders are not just Schengen,” President Plevneliev highlighted.  
 
The talks between Presidents Rosen Plevneliev and Francois Hollande also focused on the opportunities to strengthen the economic ties. There is potential for French investments basically in areas such as water and waste management, the construction of infrastructure sites, food industry, biological agriculture, the vineyard and winery branch, pharmaceutics, information technologies, tourism.

The Bulgarian side also shows an interest in strengthening the cooperation among the SMEs, inter-company cooperation and also in the sphere of innovations policy.  The energy sector shows real opportunities for implementing competitive energy projects, the development of energy infrastructure, increasing energy efficiency and introducing up-to-date energy-saving technologies. The French company Total took part in the procedure and signed an agreement on oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea in Block 1-21 Khan Asparouh.

Presidents Plevneliev and Hollande also discussed the need to strengthen NATO’s collective defense and the crisis management capabilities. The two Presidents think that the NATO summit in Warsaw on 8 and 9 July will contribute to enhancing the security of the Alliance’s member states. President Rosen Plevneliev recalled that Bulgaria supports Ukraine’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and our country insists that a peaceful solution of the crisis in Eastern Ukraine is reached.