Polish FM off for talks in Bulgaria
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
15.01.2018 12:00
Poland’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was on Monday paying his first foreign visit to Bulgaria.
Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Warsaw. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Adrian Grycuk.
He was scheduled to hold talks in Sofia with his Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zakharieva and with the Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the European Council, Liliana Pavlova.
According to the Polish Foreign Ministry, the talks were expected to focus on bilateral relations, regional cooperation and top priorities on the EU agenda.
Czaputowicz was also set to brief Bulgarian politicians on the priorities of Poland’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in 2018 and 2019.
Bulgaria holds the European Council’s rotating presidency in the first half of 2018.
During last week’s inauguration of the presidency in Sofia, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov referred to the European Commission’s December 20 decision to trigger Article 7 of the EU Treaty against Poland over what the Commission sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary.
Borisov said: “It is very important to pave the way for an agreement between Poland and the European Commission.”
Zakharieva, for her part, expressed hope that Poland would modify its reforms, leading to an accord with the European Commission.
Czaputowicz took over the foreign minister’s portfolio in Warsaw from Witold Waszczykowski on January 9. He has since held telephone conversations with several of his European counterparts, including those in the UK and Hungary.
(mk/gs/pk)