NEWS

Abolishing visa requirements for Bulgarians visiting the United States would improve economic relations between the two countries

The common challenges facing Bulgaria and the US require the two countries to enhance co-operation in the field of security, President Rosen Plevneliev and US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano agreed. "Bulgaria values highly the support of the US authorities to uncover the perpetrators of the bombing at Sarafovo Airport and I’m sure that our good relationship will give new impetus to the bilateral partnership in security,” President Plevneliev said.

He made it clear that Bulgaria would successfully complete reform of the judiciary, which would not only strengthen the trust of the country’s partners from the EU and the US, but also would meet the deeply-held expectations of society for justice. The President said that Bulgaria already has experience in creating a transparent environment for decision making in the management of EU funds. “We do not hide problems, and with the assistance of the EU, have achieved much to turn Bulgaria into a respected partner. Today we can be an example for effective management of EU funds for countries applying for EU membership,” President Plevneliev said.

Secretary Napolitano emphasised that Bulgaria has achieved a lot in building effective governance institutions and security services. The United States has an interest in deepening bilateral co-operation in this field. She also welcomed the deepening co-operation between Bulgaria and the US in the field of cybersecurity. She said that the US sees Bulgaria as a particularly promising partner in this area, and Bulgarian services are worthy partners of the Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI and other US agencies.

The President briefed Secretary Napolitano on the internal measures taken by the Bulgarian authorities on legislation to regulate the activities of the security services. He said that by the end of 2012, Bulgaria will be ready with the proposed legislation expected by society on the work of National Intelligenc Service, National Protection Service and Military Intelligence. “The important thing is that those laws were drafted after an extensive public debate and then consensus was reached among all political forces on the main principles of the bill,” the President said.

Bulgaria sees the security of supply of energy resources as a key factor for the stability of its economy and therefore any diversification project will receive support, it became clear during the meeting. President Plevneliev underlined that the efforts that Bulgaria is undertaking in this regard already have proven effective and noted the progress in the construction of interconnectors between Bulgaria and its neighbouring countries. “A study is underway of natural gas deposits in the Black Sea and this gives us hope that soon we will have an increase in the supply of natural gas from our own sources,” President Plevneliev said. He also noted the aspiration of the Bulgarian authorities to resolve the issue of energy security in a modern and environmentally friendly way, with a focus on renewable energy sources in their development programmes.

At the meeting, President Plevneliev raised the issue of the abolition of visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens visiting the US as the most effective measure to strengthen and deepen the bilateral economic partnership. It was agreed was that the agreement signed today between Bulgaria and the US on co-operation in the fight against crime and terrorism was a real step towards lifting the visa requirements for Bulgarian citizens.