Greek Parliament President Anna Benaki voiced her country's support for the Bulgarian nurses sentenced in Libya

26 February 2007

National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski met with the President of the Hellenic Parliament Anna Benaki on 26 February 2007. Mrs. Benaki is paying a three-day official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of her Bulgarian counterpart.

The role of parliaments for developing the relations between Bulgaria and Greece as EU Member States, the parliamentary dimension of the South-East Europe cooperation process, as well as the issue of the fate of the Bulgarian nurses sentenced in Libya were among the main subjects under discussion.

Pirinski and Benaki made statements for the media.

President of the Hellenic Parliament expressed Greece's support for the Bulgarian nurses sentenced in Libya, their families and the Bulgarian people. "We support the position for finding a fair solution to the situation on the basis of international law and abidance by humanitarian principles," she said.

"We found that Bulgaria and Greece are an example of good neighbourly relations in the region," Mrs. Benaki noted. Greece, Bulgaria and Romania now form a common axis within the framework of the EU policies and parliaments are the best tool to implement these policies, she said. Within this context, Mrs. Benaki expressed her expectations for deepening the parliamentary cooperation at all levels. She extended an invitation to Pirinski to visit Greece.

National Assembly Chairman Pirinski pointed out that the parliaments of the two EU Member States could play an active and tangible role in creating practical opportunities for stepping up and development of both citizens' and companies' communication. This means that many of the agreed arrangements should be finalized, including ones concerning the border checkpoints, on infrastructure and energy, he added.

The relations between parliaments within the multilateral cooperation in South-East Europe can be a factor of stability in the whole region and Bulgaria, Greece and Romania have played an essential role in this process, Pirinski said.

National Assembly Chairman expressed gratitude to Greece and personally to Mrs. Benaki for the clear position regarding the tragedy with the Bulgarian nurses sentenced in Libya.

The President of the Hellenic Parliament visited the plenary hall in Parliament and then laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier Monument.

Later on, Mrs. Benaki conferred with the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov and with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria Sergei Stanishev.

The programme of Mrs. Benaki's visit also envisages meetings with representatives of the Greek communities in Bulgaria, with His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim and a visit at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.