NEWS

For Prague as Well the Western Balkans Topic is on the Agenda

Vice-president Iliana Iotova and Jan Hamacek, Vice-president of the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies discussed the problems and the prospects the EU is facing

“The European integration of the Western Balkans is one of the topics of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy. We are pleased that Bulgaria managed to put it back on Europe’s agenda.” This is what Jan Hamacek, Vice-president of the Czech Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies, said at a meeting with Vice-president Iliana Iotova. In Hamacek’s words, the European leaders have abandoned the topic of the EU enlargement in the Western Balkan countries in the past years. “For the Czech Republic, this is an ever-present topic,” he said.

The problems addressed and prospects offered by the EU were in the focus of the talks between Iliana Iotova and Jan Hamacek. The two discussed the challenges security and the migration crisis are facing.

Vice-president Iliana Iotova said that the Dublin regulation should be revised so that the basic EU principle – solidarity can be observed. “The people in the Czech Republic are quite reserved with respect to the quota-based distribution of the refugees and migrants.  Apparently this is not a working policy and it should be changed,” the Vice-president said. Iliana Iotova was adamant that the resolution of the migration crisis will be a leading until the end of Bulgaria’s EU Council presidency.

The Vice-president also commented before journalists the EU-Western Balkans summit. Iliana Iotova identified the fact that this summit was held in the Bulgarian capital as an undisputable success. “I expected more specificity and a more ambitious final document. They started talking about a partnership with the Western Balkan countries and this is a step back from the strategy the EU adopted a couple of months ago. In the Sofia declaration the word enlargement was replaced by partnership,” the Vice-president said.

Iliana Iotova identified as an omission that nowhere in the final document the funding for the respective projects of the Western Balkans are bound to the EU’s next financial framework.

“Unfortunately, the topic of the meeting was overshadowed by the indirect exchange of remarks between the leaders of the European institutions and US President Donald Trump,” the Vice-president said. “The nuclear agreement with Iran and the custom duties cast shadow on the Balkan problems,” she added. “The whole of Europe comments the decision made to compensate the companies which can be hit by US sanctions imposed because they are in trade and business relations with Iran,” the Vice-president said.

Later Iliana Iotova will hold talks with Milan Stech, President of the Senate of the Czech Republic.

The Vice-president visited the St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert cathedral, where there is stained glass that represents the life and deeds of St. st. Cyril and Methodius in Great Moravia. Iliana Iotova also visited the library of the Strahov Monastery which has the oldest book from the 18^th century. The Vice-president donated to the library the oldest phototype edition of the Tetraevangelia of Tsar Ivan Alexander, edition of the Literature Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The Vice-president is visiting the Czech Republic on the occasion of the official celebration of the day of the holy brothers St. Cyril and Methodius in the village of Mikulcice, where she will deliver an opening speech tomorrow. It will be attended by representatives of the official Czech and Bulgarian authorities as well as by Bulgarians from the whole of Central Europe.