site.btaUPDATED President Radev: Bulgaria, Croatia Crucial to Southeast European Stability

President Rumen Radev met with Croatian President Zoran Milanovic in Zagreb as part of his official visit, the President’s administration said Monday.

The two leaders led plenary talks between the Bulgarian and Croatian delegations ahead of a joint media statement.

Radev is on a two-day official visit to Croatia. The two presidents held a one-to-one meeting and presided over the plenary discussions between the official delegations before their joint statement to the media.

Radev said that Bulgaria and Croatia have established themselves as key factors for security and stability in Southeast Europe. Both, as members of NATO and the EU and as countries located at either end of the Western Balkans, share a common responsibility for the security, stability and prosperity of the region, with particular emphasis on the EU’s enlargement towards the Western Balkans.

“Although profound geostrategic changes have increased the role of enlargement policy as a tool for consolidating the European area of security and stability, we continue to insist that merit should remain a key element in this process of integration into the EU,” Radev explained.

“The great challenge facing Europe is the profound geostrategic changes and Europe's place and role in them. We fully share the view that the EU must take on greater responsibility not only for its own defence, but also for building a dynamic and competitive economy... We shared the view that both countries continue to actively develop their own defence capabilities and contribute to ensuring peace and security by enhancing NATO's overall defence potential and strengthening the European security system,” he said.

“We share the assessment that our relations are at an excellent level and we want this dialogue at the highest political level to have the opportunity and help us develop active relations in all other areas of mutual interest. We discussed a number of areas in which we can continue our cooperation, from energy and connectivity to security and defence, culture, tourism and education,” Rumen Radev added.