NEWS

Bulgaria and Portugal are Part of the Efforts to Ensure a Sustainable Solution of the Problems the EU is Facing

The Bulgarian entrepreneurs can use Portuguese partnerships to launch projects on new markets in Latin America and Africa

Bulgaria and Portugal are part of the efforts to pursue an ambitious, European foreign policy for a sustainable solution of the problems related to the migration pressure and the record number of crises we are observing. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said in Lisbon, where he is on an official two-day visit. The Bulgarian Head of State was welcomed by his Portuguese counterpart Anibal Cavacu Silva with an official ceremony in the Belem palace.

In the EU, Bulgaria and Portugal set a direction of a common solution of the challenges related to the migration pressure, President Rosen Plevneliev said after the meeting he held with the Portuguese president. The migration pressure along the external EU borders was the basic topic of the talks between the two presidents. The Bulgarian Head of State highlighted the necessity of pursuing common European policies in the sphere of migration and asylum-seeking and drawing a clear distinction between refugees and economic migrants. Rosen Plevneliev and Anibal Cavacu Silva were unanimous that the reasons for the refugee wave should be analyzed and on this basis the EU should find sustainable solutions.

“We agreed that the migration situation will continue to deteriorate if no political solution to the conflict in the Middle East and North Africa is found,” Rosen Plevneliev said. In the Head of State’s view, both countries share the opinion that it is necessary to adopt a common European approach. President Cavacu Silva said that a dialogue should be held not only with the countries the immigrants come from, but also with the countries that accept them. “While the war in Syria continues, while we are witnessing a record number of conflicts and failed states, Europe cannot be calm. The EU should generate a sustainable solution for Syria, Iraq, and the Middle East,” President Plevneliev said.

Head of State Rosen Plevneliev pointed out that Portugal and Bulgaria share common positions on the solution of problems related to climate changes which entail a further risk of new migration waves. The two countries will be part of a responsible solution to overcoming these problems, Rosen Plevneliev added.

The two presidents highlighted the potential for strengthening the trade cooperation between Bulgaria and Portugal. Rosen Plevneliev and Anibal Cavacu Silva said that Portuguese and Bulgarian entrepreneurs may develop joint projects and use their experience on different markets outside the EU – not only in the region of Southeast Europe, but also in countries such as Brazil, Angola, and the region of Latin America. In these parts of the world, Portugal has proved to be a good partner and a platform on which the ambitions of the Bulgarian entrepreneurs can further develop and if we launch joint projects, we will be stronger, President Plevneliev said.

The Bulgarian Head of State highlighted that the positive results of the Bulgarian-Portuguese business forum have already become tangible. The business forum was opened in Sofia in June 2015 when the joint Bulgarian-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce was set up. At the business forum Portuguese companies showed an interest in the Bulgarian car industry sector, in machine building and infrastructure, food production. We can also cooperate in the information and communication technologies sector and connect the innovative ecosystems of the two countries, the Head of State added. The pharmacy and health science sectors were also highlighted as prospective sectors for partnership.

A record number of Bulgarian tourists visited Portugal in 2014, President Plevneliev said and voiced hope that the Portuguese people will also recognize Bulgaria as an attractive tourist destination.

The Bulgarian President said that Portugal is a good example of modernization and an efficient and transparent EU funds management. “In Bulgaria we learn from our Portuguese partners and we have achieved very good results – in the past program period 2007-2013 Bulgaria achieved excellent results of 94 percent of utilization and a minimal percentage of mistakes,” Rosen Plevneliev recalled.

President Rosen Plevneliev voiced gratitude to his Portuguese counterpart for Portugal’s consistent support for the accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen area. Among the goals that our country has set up to 2018, when Bulgaria will take over the EU presidency, are joining Schengen, the Single Bank Supervisory Mechanism and the preceding Exchange Rate Mechanism ERM II. The President highly appreciated Portugal’s readiness to share its experience with Bulgaria in preparing the rotating chairmanship of the EU Council.

The Head of State thanked President Cavacu Silva for his personal commitment to our country’s affiliation to the Arraiolos group. “It is a great honor to me that Bulgaria will host the annual meeting of the state leaders in 2016,” Rosen Plevneliev said. The Bulgarian Head of State said that the Arraiolos group, initiated by Portugal in 2003, is an established workable format for the exchange of opinions and the adoption of positions on issues which are important for Europe.  

On the first day of his official visit to Lisbon, the Head of State held talks with Prime Minister Pedro Passos Cuelho and with the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal Luis Ferro Rodrigues.  The Bulgarian President discussed the key reforms launched by our country with his Portuguese partners.