Barroso to visit Sofia

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, will be on an official one-day visit to the Bulgarian capital on 31 August.

His schedule hosts events such as the opening ceremony of the second metro diameter of Sofia Metro which was partly financed through European funds, and meetings with the Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevleniev, and the Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov. The meeting with Borissov will be bilateral and will conclude with a press conference.The main subjects of their discussion are not yet announced, so questions arise as to whether the EC President’s visit only ‘accidentally’ comes straight after Bulgaria made important steps towards ensuring its energy independence by signing contracts with the French company Total over oil and gas exploration on Wednesday and with the Russian Gazprom on gas discount and South Stream on Tuesday this week, and whether energy diversification will be included as a main topic.