"The Epopee of Thracian Kings" Exhibition Unveiled at Louvre

Paris, April 14 (BTA Special Correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) -
Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that Bulgaria is returning to
 its place of a respected European country, after it had been in
 isolation for a year and a half. Borissov was speaking to
Bulgarian journalists in Paris on the occasion of Tuesday's
opening of "The Epopee of Thracian Kings: Archaeological Finds
in Bulgaria" exhibition at the Louvre. "We have the confidence
to say it: for the first time the Louvre opens its doors to a
foreign exhibition," the Bulgarian PM added.

Borissov specified that his French counterpart Manuel Valls, as
well as French President Francois Hollande and ex-president
Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) declared how important and stable
Bulgaria is and what a good partner it is. Bulgarian Culture
Minister Vezhdi Rashidov described the exhibition's opening as a
 contact with the height of world culture. He and Borissov told
journalists that the exhibition has already been requested by
Russia, the United Kingdom, Romania, Croatia and Morocco. The
Prime Minister added that it is being negotiated with the French
 President on the exhibition of Louvre items in Sofia.

Representatives of the Louvre told journalists that as of next
week, "The Epopee of Thracian Kings" will be advertised at 300
stations of Paris' underground railway system.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bulgarian Culture Minister Rashidov and
French Minister of Culture and Communication Fleur Pellerin
signed here a joint declaration on the
protection of copyright and cultural heritage. The declaration
was signed at the French Culture Ministry during a working
meeting between the two ministers, attended by the Chair of the
Bulgarian Culture and Media Parliamentary Committee, Polina
Karastoyanova, the French Ambassador to Bulgaria, Xavier Lapeyre
 de Cabanes, and members of the two delegations, the Culture
Ministry said in a press release.

Rashidov and Pellerin agreed on more active cooperation between
 the two countries' national film centres on the occasion of the
  100th anniversary of Bulgarian cinema, as well as active joint
  work in the fields of library work and cultural heritage.
During  the meeting Minister Rashidov voiced support for the
proposal  to the European Union, currently drafted by France and
 Italy, to  digitalize the valuable cultural heritage of Iraq
and Syria,  some of which has been destroyed.

The Palais des congres de Paris will cooperate with Sofia's 
National Palace of Culture (NDK), it emerged during a meeting 
between NDK Director Miroslav Borshosh and Palais de Congres 
Director Pascal Reungoat, said NDK in a Tuesday press release.

Bulgarian PM Discusses Gas Projects with French President

Speaking to journalists about his talks with French President
Hollande on the topic of Bulgarian energy projects and the
creation of a gas hub near Varna (on the Black Sea), Prime
Minister Borissov said that with more common sense and with the
discipline and stability which Bulgaria has, at the end everyone
 will be convinced, even the Russian side, that Bulgaria is a
loyal EU Member State but also that it has proposed the most
correct solutions.
    
"It is a fact that South Stream [gas pipeline project] was
suspended by the European Commission [EC]. Common sense should
prevail at the EC and the European Council, as well as on
Russia's part, and the sooner the sanctions [against Russia] are
 lifted, the better for the European countries, including
Bulgaria, and for Russia itself," Borissov told journalists.
This is why Bulgaria proposes a solution which is favourable for
 everyone: a gas hub where gas can come from several places, he
specified.

Taking a question about his meeting with Hollande, the PM said
that they discussed economy, culture, art, security and
Schengen. In Borissov's words, the French President committed to
 becoming a driving force in Bulgaria's energy projects.
"Everyone understands that what is being done at the moment are
counter-sanctions by Russia against Bulgaria, without Bulgaria
having any fault. Simply because we have been disciplined and
strictly observing the agreements we have with the EU. I am
convinced that the other countries will also observe these at
some point, therefore we are not looking for confrontation, but
quite the opposite - what is favourable - and the gas hub in
Varna is exactly this," Borissov said. In his words, French
companies have a huge interest in this development.

On Tuesday, Borissov also talked with Nicolas Sarkozy, former
French President   and leader of the Union for a Popular
Movement, the GERB press centre said. Sarkozy assured Borissov
of his support for GERB within the European People's Party from
the very first day and of the perfect cooperation between GERB
and the Union for a Popular Movement.