More action in the aid for the Western Balkans: Bulgarian FM

Bulgaria should return on the Balkans as EU member state. This means that we must be more active and constructive in our aid for the Western Balkans in their effort to solve the conflicts and become part of the European family, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov said. 

We cannot pretend that the Western Balkans do not exist. I hope this message finds not only the politicians but also the wide public in those countries, Mladenov said. We should be the active side, working for those countries to become EU member states. We are the stability factor in the region, to which our European partners turn when seeking an expertise on the Western Balkans, Mladenov stated.

It is in Bulgaria’s best interest to aid in the EU integration in the region. Outside our obligations in EU and NATO there are several priorities – the European perspective on the Balkans, the Black Sea region and the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Middle East. And energy security and diversification includes all those priorities, Minister Mladenov concluded.