The National Assembly President, Mihail Mikov is to pay working visit to the Republic of Serbia on 23 July 2013. The visit is to be held at the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Dr Nebojsa Stefanovic. The visit is to take place just days after the decision of the European Council to start the negotiations for Serbia’s accession to the European Union in January 2014. In Belgrade Mihail Mikov is to have talks at the highest state level. He is scheduled to have meetings with the Republic of Serbia’s Speaker of the Parliament, with Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and with the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic. After the talks in the Serbian Parliament the two leaders are to hold press-conference for media representatives.

The key topic to be covered during the visit is the cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia in European Affairs. The President of the National Assembly is expected to voice support for our neighbor‘s accession process and to propose establishment of steady interaction in this respect between the two parliaments at the level of parliamentary committees.  The two speakers of parliament are to discuss possibilities for signing a protocol outlining the terms and fields of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Bulgaria is to express readiness to share its experience in the transposition of the European  legislation into the national law.

Possibilities for closer economic relations between the two neighbor countries and the trans- border cooperation, particularly the opening of the already agreed border crossing points will be among the priorities at the talks. Building of adequate regional infrastructure is top priority for both countries and taking concerted measures for overcoming the deficiencies in the infrastructure in the region, as well as measures to improve stability and competition in the whole region will also be discussed. The Bulgarian side is also planning to discuss new opportunities for cooperation in the framework of the EU Danube Strategy especially joint projects in the field of tourism and culture as well as joint initiatives and projects between municipalities and towns in Bulgaria and Serbia.

At the end of his visit in the Republic of Serbia, the National Assembly President is to lay flowers at the memorial plaques of Vasil Levski and Georgi Rakovski in Belgrade.