The Prime Minister, Janez Janša, has paid an official visit to Bulgaria where he was received by the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev. After the talks with his host, Mr Janša said that relations between Slovenia and Bulgaria were good, and that there were no open issues between the countries. The PM also emphasised the importance of the strong business delegation that accompanied him on the visit.
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''Representatives of almost seventy Slovenian companies have met their Bulgarian counterparts. This meeting will thus be politically and economically beneficial,'' said the PM, and added that there was great interest in strengthening cooperation, in particular in the area of business. ''The memorandum on cooperation between economic ministries of both countries, and the programme of cultural and educational cooperation, which were signed today, form the basis for the work of a joint business committee. This will further improve the conditions for successful business cooperation,'' stressed Mr Janša. He added that Slovenia had always endorsed an open-door policy, which is why it fully supports Bulgaria's accession to the EU due on 1 January 2007.
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Slovenian Prime Minister welcomed the efforts which the Bulgarian government has recently invested in eliminating some of the obstacles which could postpone the country's EU accession date. He emphasised that great efforts were needed to achieve this. He also called on the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to continue its efforts, as this was the only way to convince sceptics within the EU, who have perhaps become more particular with regard to certain issues, particularly due to the deadlock over the constitutional treaty, and so-called 'enlargement fatigue' in the EU founding members. He explained that there was a clear difference between the last enlargement wave in which Slovenia was one of the ten candidates, and the current one, which only included two. At that time the European Commission was focused on ten candidates, and now on only two. This is the reason Bulgaria is now facing a more demanding challenge.
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''The experience that Bulgaria gains during this period, will prove useful at the time when the country becomes a full EU member. Even as an EU member, Bulgaria will have to face situations which will require difficult negotiations; therefore, investing today means investing in the future. Slovenia and other new member states need to show support and understanding of the specifics of this final pre-accession period, as practically all of us had to take this path and meet the same criteria.
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Mr Janša also emphasised that besides good opportunities and bases for business cooperation between the two countries, there were many opportunities for collaboration in third markets, particularly in the Western Balkans, i.e. the countries which are at the beginning of their path to the EU. ''Opportunities here are ample. Both countries have the necessary experience, and know the conditions and the business environment well. By joining the efforts, many companies will be able to achieve a bigger success. We have managed to establish an excellent economic forum, which will yield good results,'' said the PM, who added that Slovenia was in a position where it is already reaping the fruits of the efforts it had made since its independence. As early as November last year, Slovenia met the Maastricht criteria for entry into the EMU, which is why we have every reason to expect a positive final report this month.
