Bulgaria, Romania Set Up High-Level Cooperation Council

File photo: Bulgarian PM Borisov (left) and Romanian PM Boc pictured in Bucharest in November 2010. Photo by BGNES

The Cabinets of Bulgaria and Romania have set up a High-Level Cooperation Council at their first ever joint sitting held Wednesday in Bucharest.

The governments of the two neighboring EU countries met in the Romanian capital led by the two Prime Ministers, Boyko Borisov and Emil Boc, and signed a political declaration for establishing a cooperation council.

The joint sitting of the two Cabinets is unprecedented in the history of the Bulgarian-Romanian relations.

To date, Bulgaria's Cabinet had held joint sittings only with the Cabinets of Greece (in 2010) and of Israel (in 2011).

"With the signing of the political declaration for creating a High-Level Cooperation Council, the governments of Bulgaria and Romania will hold joint sittings every year," Romanian PM Boc explained after the joint Cabinets' session, as cited by the correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Boc stressed that Bulgaria and Romania share a lot of common positions in regional and EU politics, including their aspirations to join the Schengen Agreement and to help implement the EU Danube River Strategy.

In addition to their joint political declaration for the setting up of a Cooperation Council, Bulgaria and Romania’s governments adopted a Common Position of the Prime Ministers on the two countries’ applications for the Schengen Area.

The two documents have been signed after “assuming that the two states have reached an excellent level in their bilateral relations as EU partners and NATO allies, which led to the present first joint sitting of the governments of Bulgaria and Romania,” and “by recognizing the high level friendship, solidarity, and diverse cooperation established between the peoples of Bulgaria and Romania with respect to economy, social development, security, and culture,” in the language of the joint political declaration of Borisov and Boc.

The first document says that joint Cabinet sittings will be held at least once a year, and that Bulgaria and Romania agree on preserving and boosting their EU partnership “in a spirit of mutual trust in order to contribute with their positions to a better protection of their national interests” and to EU’s role as a global player.

The two Balkan neighbors also agree to conduct regular information exchanges, and declare their commitments to regional matters such as the EU Danube Region Strategy, the integration of the Western Balkans, the Black Sea region, and the Eastern Partnership as well as the Southeast Europe Cooperation Process (SECP) and the Black Sea Synergy; in addition they vow to work together for the development of a future EU Black Sea Region Strategy.

In the economic realm, the Cabinets of Bulgaria and Romania promise full-fledged cooperation for joint projects in an array of policy areas ranging from energy to transit routes, especially Pan European Transport Corridors No. 4, 7, and 9, the Bulgaria-Romania gas interconnection, as well as starting surveys for the construction of two Danube bridges at Oryahovo-Beket and Silistra-Calaras, in addition to the Ruse-Giurgiu bridge and the one under construction at Vidin-Calafat.

In the fields of defense and security, Bulgaria and Romania declare their desire to build further upon their partnership within NATO, the EU, and SECP.

The Common Position of PMs Borisov and Boc on Schengen reminds that the European Parliament and the Council on Home Affairs and Justice as well as the EC have recognized Bulgaria and Romania’s fitness for joining the Schengen Area, and that the two states have met all requirements for membership.

They further claim to have achieved efficient management of the respective external EU borders, and vow to keep their policies in that respect.

Bulgaria and Romania express their expectations that the EU Council will get down discussing the matter and will find a solution at its upcoming meeting in October.

The two countries were supposed to join the Schengen Area by March 2011 but political opposition by major Western European countries delayed their accession to the point that in September 2011, the Netherlands and Finland technically imposed vetoes, which in turn led Bulgaria and Romania to complain of unfair, politically motivated treatment.

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