Georgian Journalists Visit Bulgaria, Upcoming President Country of EU Council
On December 5-8, the Bulgarian Embassy to Georgia organized a tour for Georgian journalists in Sofia, Bulgaria, the aim of which was to introduce them to the country’s preparations as it gets ready to become the President Country of the Council of Europe from January 1 to June 30, 2018.
‘United We Stand Strong’ is the motto of the Bulgarian presidency, while its main goals are to achieve “real results,” following the principles of transparency and accountability. Purportedly, the Bulgarian Presidency will be an honest broker and will seek “consensus, compromise and understanding” among EU member States to take decisions and adopt legislation. It will also encourage partnerships on all levels through unity and mutual cooperation. The Bulgarian Presidency will work strongly in the field of youth and security, taking into consideration the complex nature of the challenges the EU faces. The specific focus will be on the European perspective and connectivity of the Western Balkans. Bulgaria believes that it will achieve these goals through consensus, competitiveness and cohesion. In short, the Bulgarians are confident that Europe needs more stability, security and solidarity.
One of the most interesting meetings happened at the Atlantic Club, where the subject of Georgia entering NATO was raised. Elena Poptodorova, Director for Euro-Atlantic Affairs in the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, former Ambassador of Bulgaria to the US, answered: “The brief answer to this question will be yes. Maybe NATO would not like to take a country with such internal division because the issue will become the problem of the organization itself. But that’s the principle. It can be seen in Macedonia. Most important is to see consensus in the government; after that, keep on at Brussels to let you in!
Constantine Popov, Chairman of the Defense Committee, met the Georgian journalists to talk about the constitutional and legal powers of the Defense Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria. Plamen Bonchev, Director General for Global Affairs of MFA, former Ambassador of Bulgaria to Georgia, talked about the Bulgarian Development Cooperation Policy and Bulgarian Human Rights Policy. The Georgian correspondents were also taken to the Military Medical Academy and Ministry of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of EU. “There are very deep historical ties between Bulgaria and Georgia, which represent a good basis for the current bilateral relations in all directions,” Georgi Panayotov, Head of Caucasus and Central Asia Department of MFA, noted.
Journalists from Georgia also visited the Information Center to the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria, and listened to the criteria on training disciplines on military contribution to EU Disaster Response, Humanitarian Assistance and Civil Protection. As an informal part of the visit, the organizers took the Georgian media representatives to the National Gallery, which was a thorough excursion into the Bulgarian history of art as well as into other cultures related to and assimilated inside the country.
Maka Lomadze