The relations between Bulgaria and Bavaria are the most comprehensive and dynamically developing compared to those with the other German Federal Provinces. The free state of Bavaria is our country’s major partner in the sphere of judicial reform and police cooperation. This position emerged at the talks held between President Rosen Plevneliev and the Minister-President of the Free State Bavaria Horst Seehofer. The Bavarian Minister-President is on his first visit to Bulgaria, where he took part in the opening ceremony of the first tech park in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe Sofia Tech Park.
President Rosen Plevneliev and Minister-President Horst Seehofer exchanged opinions on the refugee wave in Europe and on topics on the European and international agenda.
Bulgaria and Germany are among the few countries in Europe, which strictly adhere to the Dublin regulation and to the Schengen rules and register all immigrants on their territories, the President said. We invested a lot of funds to protect the external EU border with Turkey, we observe the European rules and register all asylum-seekers,” the Head of State highlighted at the talks.
President Plevneliev and Minister-President Seehofer shared the opinion that it is necessary to draw a distinction between refugees and economic immigrants. “Although we firmly support safeguarding human rights, a distinction should be drawn between those who are escaping from the horrors of war and those who immigrate for economic reasons,” the Head of State said.
President Rosen Plevneliev and Minister-President Seehofer were unanimous that in a situation of a plethora of crises, we need to focus on adopting a united and efficient European policy. “Europe should not only contribute to solving the causes for the refugee crisis, but should also agree on ensuring a sustainable and effective protection of the external borders. The aggravation of the crises and the rising populism and extreme nationalism as a result of them pose a threat to Europe and the European project,” the Bulgarian President warned.
Minister-President Seehofer, for his part, acquainted President Rosen Plevneliev with the situation with the refugees in Germany and defined it as “dramatic.” The number of illegal immigrants in the Federal Republic has already exceeded one million people and both the federal and local authorities find it difficult to come up with solutions of the problems caused by the strong migration pressure, Horst Seehofer said.
Rosen Plevneliev and Horst Seehofer also highlighted the dynamic development of the bilateral economic cooperation and the opportunities for improving the investment cooperation in key sectors. These include ICT, car industry, machine building, among others.