The US State Secretary has congratulated the new Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Mariya Gabriel, for being appointed to the new role and applauded the recently-established government’s Euro-Atlantic orientations.
In a phone call with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel, the authority highlighted the importance of the 120th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Bulgaria, with Gabriel also sharing the main priorities of this government, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to a press release by the Bulgarian Council of Ministers, Gabriel had mentioned in the phone call how important it is for the country to maintain an active role in the EU and NATO.
The relations with the US are an opportunity to improve cooperation between the two countries, especially in areas of mutual interest, with Bulgaria’s accession to the US Visa Waiver Program being an essential priority for the countries.
“The deepening of cooperation with Washington, both bilaterally and within NATO, is a priority in Bulgaria’s foreign policy. Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel thanked State Secretary Anthony Blinken for setting a date for the second session of the Bulgaria-USA Strategic Dialogue,” the press release reads.
The two parties will meet on September 25 in Washington with the Bulgarian delegation led by Mariya Gabriel. The Deputy Prime Minister expects the meeting to outline specific steps to strengthen cooperation on topics of common interest, including security and defence, energy diversification, innovation, and combating disinformation.
The cabinet of Bulgaria has vowed to prioritise the country’s accession to Schengen Area by the end of the year, in addition to joining Eurozone by 2025.
The top five priorities for the Bulgarian government include controlling inflation, implementing reforms and projects from the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan, and improving the efficiency and transparency of municipal project management.
Bulgaria is highly recommended to strengthen its border control by creating an effective infrastructure. In addition, the country is expected to cooperate closely with the European institutions to meet all the requirements required to join the Eurozone from January 1, 2025, which is a long-established goal for the government.
These intentions were also confirmed by the newly-appointed Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nickolay Denkov, who stressed that his cabinet is determined to work so the accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen Area can be finished in 2022. Bulgaria’s PM also emphasised that he will start a “campaign against the disinformation around Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro.”
Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Zone was delayed after being up for discussion in December last year due to Austria citing unlawful migrant concerns, which opposed the membership of this Balkan country to Schengen.