Radio Bulgaria

Just 4 days after his inauguration Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev paid a visit to Brussels and had talks with high-level NATO and EU officials. President Plevneliev said the visit was symbolic and aimed to show that Bulgaria will continue to follow the EU and NATO goals.

Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the visit of President Rossen Plevneliev showed NATO could continue to firmly trust Bulgaria as a partner. EC President Jose Barroso made a similar assessment, saying the visit of Plevneliev to Brussels showed the joint EU values. Both Jose Barroso and Anders Fogh Rasmussen vowed that Plevneliev could rely on their support.

The visit to Brussels was a working one and the president used it to express the priorities. He confirmed the Bulgarian readiness to continue participation in the NATO missions. He also vowed for the Bulgarian support for increasing NATO partnership with the partners in the Middle East and Northern Africa. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Bulgaria was an important partner of the Alliance and a pillar of stability in Southeastern Europe. He also assessed highly the Bulgarian participation in the NATO missions in Afghanistan, and Libya.

At the meeting with EC President Jose Barroso Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev pointed out that he would be pragmatic in his work and raised the question of Bulgaria’s Schengen bid. He did that also at the meeting with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. President Barroso said the assessment for Bulgaria for meeting the Schengen requirements must be objective and should not depend on the results of the EC report for the progress in the judicial sphere. Herman Van Rompuy said he would raise discussions on the topic in the Netherlands, which currently blocks the Bulgarian membership to Schengen. The first foreign visit of the newly elected Bulgarian President has confirmed the president’s goal for playing an active role in international policy.

English: Alexander Markov