Premier Dacian Ciolos and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov agreed to send a joint letter to the Canadian authorities, calling for a visa waiver for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens, the Government informs in a release to AGERPRES.
Dacian Ciolos participated on Wednesday in Sofia in the Summit meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP); Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu was also part of the Romanian delegation.
On the sidelines of the Sofia Summit, the Romanian Premier had bilateral meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov, with President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev, and Republic of Moldova President Nicolae Timofti.
According to the cited release, Romania and Bulgaria agreed on this occasion to send a joint letter to Canada calling for the visa-free travel of Romanian and Bulgarian nationals, who are European citizens as well.
"Certain commitments were made as part of the negotiations between the EU and Canada and we want them to be respected, and we agreed on several joint diplomatic steps," said Dacian Ciolos.
As concerns the Romania — Bulgaria relations, the Romanian Prime Minister and his counterpart discussed the organization of a joint sitting of the governments of the two countries at the end of this summer or early this autumn. "As already discussed at the level of foreign ministers, we now agreed at the level of Prime Ministers to work together to strengthen regional cooperation with neighboring countries. We have multiple common interests in the relationship with the Republic of Moldova and with Serbia, and we want to take coordinated stances within the European Union," said Dacian Ciolos.
According to the Government, during talks with Bulgarian officials, the head of the Romanian Executive also reviewed other subjects related to bilateral cooperation, including the construction of the gas interconnector undercrossing the Danube, which is essential for creating a common transport and distribution network in the region.
Dacian Ciolos also said that Romania will support Bulgaria's steps to combat illegal immigration and stressed that both countries have secured their borders at Schengen standards. "We assume these responsibilities and Bulgaria's doing a great job in defending the external border of the European Union represents an advantage for the European Union, but for Romania as well," said Dacian Ciolos.
The Government said that the main subjects on the agenda of the SEECP Summit referred to developments of the Western Balkan states in the regional and European perspective.
The Joint Declaration on the occasion of the 20th SEECP anniversary was also adopted at the meeting.
In his intervention, Dacian Ciolos welcomed the main lines of action of the Bulgarian SEECP chairmanship-in-office and underscored their relevance for the European roadmap of the candidates and potential candidates. In the context of the celebratory context of the meeting, the Prime Minister also referred to developments in recent years in the field of regional cooperation and to SEECP's contribution to advancing the European and Euroatlantic path of candidate and potential candidate countries, the release says.
At the same time, Premier Ciolos reiterated Romania's firm and consistent support for the further enlargement of the EU based on own merits and with the fulfillment of membership criteria. Ciolos mentioned the need to continue the European commitment and support efforts of the states in the region towards the implementation of reforms, and also presented Romania's position on topical issues at regional and European level, focusing on the importance of energy security and the management of migration flows, the release says.