EC president pays work visit to Bulgaria_English

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (R) welcomes EU permanent President-elect Herman Van Rompuy in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, on Dec. 14. 2009. Herman Van Rompuy is on a work visit to Bulgaria. (Xinhua/Velko Angelov)Photo Gallery>>>

SOFIA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- President of the European Council (EC) Herman van Rompuy paid a brief work visit on Monday to Bulgaria at the invitation of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

This is the first time for the first president of the EC to visit Bulgaria. During his visit, Herman van Rompuy held talks with Borisov and met with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

"It is important for me to talk to my colleagues of the European Council and to establish close personal relationships with them," Van Rompuy explained the purpose of his visit at a joint press conference after the one-to-one meeting with Borisov.

Dialogue is essential for having consensus in Europe and in the European Council, said the EC president, adding that it is particularly important to understand the challenges of the newer Member States.

"I am fully aware of the difficult economic conditions that Bulgaria is facing and the intense efforts of the new government to manage the crisis and to restore a positive image of the country, to modernize the country in many ways, opening the perspective of one day becoming a member of the Eurozone. Bulgariais again on the right track," the European Council president said." I hope I will end this day as a new friend of Bulgaria."

Van Rompuy stressed the significance of coping with the economic crisis. He said that the recovery in other EU member states was going to aid the recovery in Bulgaria.

In his words, the GDP of the EU is forecast to grow by only one percent for a longer period of time, which would be insufficient for the Union in its quest to tackle rising unemployment. That is why the economy is an absolute priority for the EU, the president explained.

"There are many urgent issues that we have to deal with. These include climate change which is vital for the EU. The EU is bent on playing a leading role in the Copenhagen talks and to contribute to the achievement of an ambitious international agreement. The actions of the EU are not enough and I call upon our partners to contribute to its success," Van Rompuy stated.

Later in the day, Van Rompuy conferred with President Georgi Parvanov. The two discussed issues of the EU agenda as Rompuy showed interest in the Bulgarian president's views on the future enlargement and the energy security of the Union.

Parvanov noted that Bulgaria continues its principled consistent policy of support for the efforts of the countries of the Western Balkans to join the EU. These countries' problems should be considered on a case-by-case basis and their settlement should be clearly tied up with the European perspective.

Parvanov familiarized the EC president with the existing energy deficit in the region of Southeastern Europe and Bulgaria's efforts to overcome this problem by supporting the maximum number of projects increasing the flow of energy resources to the countryand to the EU in general.

In this context, the Bulgarian president stressed the importance of Bulgaria's participation in key international energy projects for the region such as the gas transit pipelines Nabucco and South Stream, and the Belene Nuclear Power Plant.