September 9, 2010

A delegation of the parliament (Landtag) of the German State of Bavaria is on a two-day (9 – 10 September 10, 2010) official visit to Bulgaria at the invitation of the National Assembly President Tsetska Tsacheva. The delegation met with the leadership of the National Assembly on September 10, 2010. The heads of the two parliaments noted that their institutions were concerned with very similar problems.

In her statement for the media, the Speaker of Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva defined the talks between the two parties as cordial, informal, and such of partners. “I had the pleasure to share how much Bulgaria as a country and the National Assembly appreciate the assistance provided by the State and the Landtag of Bavaria”, said Tsetska Tsacheva. It was noted that the two parliaments had to solve many common problems such as preparing the budgets for 2011 and overcoming the financial crisis impact. The Bulgarian side underscored the priority of its Government to combat organized crime and corruption. The Chair of Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva emphasized the close cooperation between Bulgaria and Bavaria in the fields of justice, interior and public order on the level of interior ministers and parliamentary standing committees. She added that the idea to create a specialized court was shared with the Bavarian delegation, as well as health care issues, the absorption of EU funds and the search of a strategic investor for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant.

The Bavarian Landtag’s President Barbara Stamm, on her part, said that there were long-term friendly relations and partnership between the two countries and between Bulgaria and Bavaria, in particular, both at government and parliamentary level. Our visit is related to the desire to further deepen our good relations, she added. She pointed out that during the talks it became clear that the two parliaments were working on identical problems. She noted that the problem faced now by Bulgaria and Germany, as well as by all the EU members was to take further measures in order to prevent a new economic crisis.

The President of the Bavarian Landtag Barbara Stamm wrote in the book for official guests of the National Assembly the following: "It is worth to continue working together in Europe for the benefit of our children and their grandchildren”.

On the Bulgarian side, the meeting was attended by the Vice-Chairpersons of the National Assembly Anastas Anastasov, Georgi Pirinski, Hristo Biserov, Pavel Shopov and Ekaterina Mihailova, and by the Chairwomen of the parliamentary Culture, Civil Society and Media Committee and the Health Committee Daniela Petrova and Desislava Atanasova.

The parliamentary delegation of Bavaria included the deputy heads of the Landtag - Boklet Reinhold, Franz Maget, Peter Meyer, Christine Stahl and Jörg Rode.

The schedule of the delegation envisages meetings with the Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, the Minister of Justice Margarita Popova and the President Georgi Parvanov.

The delegation will be welcomed in the plenary hall at 11.30, Friday, September 10, 2010.