Spotlight: Bulgaria tries to increase role in European diplomacy in 2015

In a year of massive migrant flows and terrorist threats facing Europe, Bulgaria tried to increase its role in European Union (EU) foreign policy while further developing bilateral relations with China.

"In 2015, we increased the role and visibility of Bulgaria within the EU, turning the country into a serious player in the decision-making process and the development of measures on topical, most crucial challenges to Europe," Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said at his year end press conference last Thursday.

The refugee pressure is among the greatest challenges facing the EU, and Bulgaria from the very beginning pointed out that the "quota" system for the administration of refugees does not work, "something in which many other countries are convinced now," Mitov said.

Repatriation of people who have crossed borders illegally should become a European policy, Mitov added.

Bulgaria, which is located on the southeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, on the most direct route of refugee flows from Turkey to Central Europe, maintained the security of its border, which is also the external border of the EU, Mitov said.

Meanwhile, world and European leaders such as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Minister Philip Hammond, as well as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg came to Bulgaria in 2015, Mitov said.

"These are political signs. Europe came to Bulgaria, because for the first time, Bulgaria is at the heart of European diplomacy," Mitov said.

At the same time, Bulgaria has further deepened its traditional friendship with China and expressed readiness to actively participate in the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Marking some key bilateral events chronologically, the Bulgarian version of Chinese President Xi Jinping's book "The Chinese Dream of the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation" was published in Sofia in January. Bulgaria was the first country that initiated and carried out its own translation of this book.

Later on, the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries was established in Sofia at the intergovernmental level in June, and in September, the Confucius Institute in Sofia became one of the 14 model Confucius Institutes worldwide.

China-Bulgaria cooperation reached a new high in mid-October when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Balkan country and discussed with Bulgarian leaders broad prospects for cooperation under the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Bulgaria hosted the second forum on cultural cooperation between China and CEE countries one month later, and at the end of November, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov paid a six-day visit to China to participate in the fourth leaders' meeting of China and CEE countries and further deepened bilateral ties.

During Borissov's visit, China signed a memorandum to promote the Belt and Road Initiative with five CEE countries including Bulgaria, and Borissov was among the leaders who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In a separate meeting, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Borissov vowed to deepen bilateral cooperation in areas including infrastructure, nuclear power, agriculture and tourism.

The friendship between the two countries is profound, and bilateral relations are healthy and stable, Li said, adding that as an important CEE country, Bulgaria plays a positive role in China-CEE cooperation.

China values relations with Bulgaria and hopes to increase exchanges between the two countries and promote a friendly, comprehensive partnership, he said.

In turn, congratulating the annual leaders' meeting between China and CEE countries on its success, Borissov said Sino-Bulgarian relations are solid and the two sides are willing to enhance cooperation in railway and highway construction. Endit