NEWS

Presidents Rumen Radev and Andrzej Duda: Economic and Social Cohesion Should be in the Focus of the European Union’s Policies

Poland supports Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, the Polish Head of State told President Radev

Economic and social cohesion should be in the focus of the common European Union’s Policies. This was the common position shared by the Presidents of Bulgaria and Poland Rumen Radev and Andrzej Duda, who held talks in Warsaw today. The Bulgarian Head of State is on an official visit to the Republic of Poland at the invitation of his Polish counterpart.

Although the European states have an equal voice in the EU today, efforts should be pooled to raise the standard of living in the Eastern European countries and create greater opportunities for the people in this region. This is the real road towards achieving a real convergence in Europe and building a stronger and more united Union, Rumen Radev emphasized.

The Bulgarian and Polish Heads of State called for the EU’s stronger support for the Three Seas initiative, the aim of which is to improve the transport, energy and communication connectivity in Eastern Europe. Implementing the strategic cross-border infrastructure projects will contribute to achieving a better connectivity between the economies in Central and Eastern Europe along the North-South axis and also to promoting competitiveness, economic growth and cultural exchange, President Radev said.

The good bilateral cooperation in the security sphere was highlighted at the meeting. “The joint efforts which Bulgaria and Poland put in fighting illegal migration and protecting the external EU borders are extremely important for European security,” Rumen Radev emphasized. The Head of State thanked President Duda for Poland’s contribution within FRONTEX  to protecting the Bulgarian borders. The two shared the opinion that since 2011 Bulgaria has met all membership criteria for the Schengen area and all member-states should recognize this fact. “We cannot be fully efficient in protecting the external borders until we become a full-fledged Schengen member,” the Bulgarian Head of State further said.

The good bilateral cooperation in the defense sphere and in NATO, and also the opportunity for Poland to take part in the process of modernizing the Bulgarian Armed Forces were also discussed at the talks the two Presidents held.

President Andrzej Duda voiced his country’s support for the forthcoming Bulgarian presidency of the Council of the EU and said that Bulgaria and Poland share a lot of common positions within the European agenda. Rumen Radev said that Bulgaria will work, within the forthcoming presidency, to ensure a stronger consensus between the member-states, to promote competitiveness and also increase the importance of cohesion policy as a key factor for united Europe’s future.

The two Presidents were unanimous that the 20-percent increase of the economic trade between Bulgaria and Poland, which reached 1.6 billion euros in 2016, is a prerequisite for a future expansion of the partnership in bilateral trade and investments. Poland is Bulgaria’s important trade partner and promoting the direct investments in Bulgaria is a contribution to the economies and people of the two countries, President Radev said. 370 000 Polish tourists visited our country in 2016 and 65 000 Bulgarian tourists visited Poland. Today the Presidents of Bulgaria and Poland will open a Polish-Bulgarian Economic Forum in Warsaw, where the opportunities for increasing the mutual investments will be discussed.

In reply to a journalist’s question after the end of the meeting regarding what should be done to preserve the unity in Europe after the referendum held in Catalonia, President Radev said that the EU should work to overcome the sharp social inequalities and thereafter the surging nationalism. “The solution lies in the Union’s genuine solidarity, equality and unity. We should ensure that the rich start thinking in a more responsible manner to incorporate the poor and those lagging behind. These principles should be an everyday commitment and a policy involving real actions,” Rumen Radev added.

Asked to give his opinion about the sanctions imposed on Russia, the President said that the sanctions are detrimental to economic development and solutions should be sought in the future, which will lead to sustainable peace using all possible diplomatic tools.

Within his visit, the Head of state will hold meetings with Prime Minister Beata Shidlo, the Marshal of the Polish Sejm Marek Kuchcinski and the Deputy Senate Marshal Michal Sewerynski.

Earlier today the official welcome ceremony for President Rumen Radev was held in Warsaw. The Bulgarian Head of State laid a wreath in front of the Monument of the Unknown Soldier in the Polish capital.