Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee Dzhema Grozdanova has presented the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU before MPs from the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee at the Hellenic Parliament. A delegation of the Foreign Policy Committee, led by its chair, is on a two-day visit to Greece, at the invitation of Costas Douzinas, Chair of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee.

Speeding up the EU accession process for the Western Balkan countries, security and migration, the cohesion policy, the Danube strategy and Black sea cooperation will be the leading topics during our presidency, said Dzhema Grozdanova. She emphasised that the priorities of the Bulgarian presidency corresponded to those of Austria and Romania, which would take over the presidency of the Council of the EU after Bulgaria. The issues of Brexit and the multiannual financial framework will also be at the forefront of the agenda of the Bulgarian presidency, added the Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee.

Chair of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hellenic Parliament Costas Douzinas said that the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU was a unique opportunity for the Balkan countries to make their voices heard. He said that Greece was prepared to share its experience in running the presidency.

As part of the visit, the Bulgarian MPs talked to members of the Greece-Bulgaria Friendship Group and representatives of the European Affairs Committee. President of the Hellenic Parliament Nikolaos Voutsis also attended the meeting and said that the Bulgarian presidency should not be formalised, but bring to the fore the Balkan region and issues related to the growing social inequality in Europe. He thanked for the efforts made to strengthen the ties between the public institutions, the business and the citizens of the two countries.

Members of the Bulgarian delegation were Valeri Zhablyanov, Daniela Saveklieva, Hamid Hamid and Petar Vitanov.