Italy Supports Bulgaria's Accession to Schengen Area

Sofia, April 14 (BTA) - Italy has always had a clear position:
it supports Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area, Benedetto
Della, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs at the Italian
Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing here after a meeting
with Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Roumen Draganov.

Draganov and the Italian guest discussed illegal migration and
asylum, the situation in Syria and Iraq and the developments,
related to the so-called Islamic State. "The two countries'
positions are very close. We are working together because both
Bulgaria and Italy are exposed to a very serious immigration
risk," said Draganov. The two countries share the stance that
neither the Bulgarian-Turkish border is a fully Bulgarian issue,
nor the Italian maritime border to the south is a fully Italian
issue," Undersecretary Della commented. According to the two
countries' shared stance, a sincere and open discussion should
be held within the EU in order to develop new efficient
instruments, he added.

Both countries expect a fairer distribution of the burden,
related to migration and asylum, within the EU. "I hope that
this cooperation will develop further and we will be able to
present specific joint legislative proposals within the EU in
the future," said Draganov.

Energy projects and energy security also featured on the agenda
of the discussions. Both countries attach priority to the South
Gas Corridor, of which the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) forms a
part, he observed.

Draganov commented that Italy is a traditionally important trade
partner of Bulgaria and ranks third in terms of volume of
commodity exchange with Bulgaria. The guest noted that there are
over 1,000 Italian companies in Bulgaria and that this economic
cooperation could be further promoted and new Italian
investments could be made in Bulgaria.

The interlocutors also discussed the integration of the Western
Balkan countries into the EU.