At a meeting with Bert Koenders, foreign minister of the Kingdom of Netherlands, President Rosen Plevneliev called on the EU member states to find a political solution to Bulgaria’s Schengen Accession. “The right to free movement embodies the very idea of united Europe. Accession to the Schengen area does not boil down to meeting the technical requirements only, which we have long met, but is part of the process of European integration,” the Head of State emphasized and called on the EU member states to remain committed to this process not only in words, but also in deeds.
The Netherlands highly appreciates the efforts and the achievements of Bulgaria to meet the criteria for Schengen accession, Minister Koenders said. President Plevneliev recalled that our country has agreed to a stage-by-stage accession to the border-free area, and firstly it concerns the Bulgarian airports.
The Bulgarian Head of State highlighted that our country has invested considerable funds in monitoring and guarding the external EU borders and currently it is coping much better compared to the beginning of the refugee crisis. The two shared the opinion that the stronger migration pressure on Europe requires joint efforts and solidarity between the EU member states, as well as a stronger commitment of the EU to Syria’s neighboring countries, where the greatest number of refugees from the Middle East zones of conflict live. Minister Koenders called on for complying with the European requirements and registration of all immigrants entering the EU.
The opportunities for increasing the bilateral trade and attracting more Dutch investments were also discussed at the meeting. The Netherlands is the biggest foreign investor in Bulgaria and it has invested more than 7 billion euros in the Bulgarian economy in the past 20 years. In President Plevneliev’s view, the rapid development of the IT sector, food production and also the forthcoming reforms of the water sector in Bulgaria create favorable conditions for attracting more foreign investors. Minister Koenders pointed out that Dutch companies show an interest in partnerships with Bulgarian companies in the IT sector.
The establishment of a European energy union will be one of the most important priorities of the Dutch EU Presidency, Bert Koenders said and reiterated his support for the actions taken by Bulgaria to ensure energy diversification.
The common commitment assumed by Bulgaria and the Netherlands to the measures adopted by the EU and NATO to fight terrorism and increase the security in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region was also confirmed at the meeting.