British PM Calls for Stepping up Information Sharing in Anti-terrorism Fight

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov welcomes his British counterpart David Cameron at Sofia Airport, Dec. 3, 2015. Photo BGNES

It is important to defeat Daesh where it exists – in Iraq and Syria, British Prime Minister David Cameron has said after a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov in Sofia on Thursday.

Cameron arrived in Sofia less than 24 hours after the House of Commons voted in support of his plan to extend air strikes on targets of Daesh [the Arabic acronym of the Islamic State group] from Iraq to Syria. He is the first British Prime Minister to visit  Bulgaria in 16 years. 

To counter the threat of terrorism, it is necessary to step up the sharing of information about passenger names and illicit arms trafficking, Cameron said during a joint briefing with Borisov, according to BGNES.

The reform of the EU was also on the agenda of the meeting. The British Prime Minister said that he wanted his country to stay in a reformed European Union.

"The scale of what we are asking for means we will not resolve this easily. We need time to ensure that each issue is properly addressed because what matters most is getting the substance right,” Cameron said, according to PA. "This is a large, bold and wide-ranging agenda and it is difficult. We are not going to agree it in one go so I do not expect to reach agreement at this December summit but we won't take our foot off the pedal.”

Earlier, a spokesman for the British Prime Minister’s office had said that David Cameron's demand for a benefits curb for newly arrived workers from the European Union remains a "core part" of his re-negotiating strategy, according to The Telegraph.

Cameron is reported to have warned the president of the European Council Donald Tusk and the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker that he is ready to campaign for Britain to leave the EU unless other leaders accept in-work benefits for new arrivals are restricted for four years.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!