Speaker of the Parliament Dimitar Glavchev has addressed the MPs in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, at an extraordinary meeting specially convened for the occasion.  

Dimitar Glavchev thanked for the high honour to be the first Bulgarian statesman to speak in the plenary hall of the Serbian Parliament. I take it as a clear sign of the significance of the relations between the two countries, the two friendly nations, and as an ambition to build good neighbourly and friendly relations, he said. In his words, Bulgarian-Serbian friendship is indicative of the fact that even on the Balkans, where the nations have distinctive identities, building relations of trust, cooperation and friendship is possible, when there is a political will for that.

From the floor of the parliament, Dimitar Glavchev also addressed Bulgarians living in the Republic of Serbia: “Be active citizens of our friendly neighbour Serbia! Remember your origins and language!” The Speaker of the Parliament said that our country welcomed Serbia’s policy to national minorities in recent years. We believe that any problem could be resolved only through dialogue, he added. Dimitar Glavchev commended the MPs at the Serbian National Assembly for keeping up with the highest European standards in adopting legislation on the rights of national minorities in Serbia. 

Today Bulgaria and Serbia have a common interest in the effective implementation of the legal rights of the Bulgarian national minority and together we are building a favourable political framework for that in our bilateral relations, said the Speaker of the Parliament.  He mentioned that both countries were concerned about the economic situation in the border municipalities and are seeking solutions together. We have to work together on the development of Bosilegrad as well, as it as a municipality with a predominant Bulgarian population, he emphasized.

The Speaker of the Parliament said that the Bulgarian nation extended warm congratulations to the Serbian nation for choosing the European path of development in the 21st century. He assured the Serbian MPs that the European prospect for the Western Balkans would be among the main priorities of the forthcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The Republic of Bulgarian supports of the EU integration of the Republic of Serbia and looks forward to welcoming your country in our united European family, said the Speaker of the Parliament. We are confident that pro-European politicians in Serbia, with the support and understanding of Serbian citizens, will quickly complete all necessary reforms and your country will meet the requirements for full membership, he added. In his words, Serbia will have a unique chance to speed up the integration process in the months and years ahead. 

The slogan of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is also the slogan on the building of the Bulgarian Parliament, and as of 1 January 2018, it will be the slogan of United Europe, said the Speaker of the Parliament. And here, from the floor of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, I hope it will be our common slogan: “United we stand strong!”, he added.