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The Netherlands grants Bulgaria USD 2 200 000 in aid for the recovery from the floods aftermath

Países
Bulgaria
Fuentes
Govt. Bulgaria
Fecha de publicación

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivailo Kalfin met with his Dutch counterpart Bernard Bot within his working visit to the Netherlands. The visit is part of the efforts on the Bulgarian side to speed up the process of ratification of the Treaty of Accession to the EU. It was also a sign of continuation of the active political dialogue between the two countries after the forming of the new Bulgarian government.

Three major issues were touched upon on the first day of the visit. During the talks, the Netherlands' Foreign Minister Bernard Bot confirmed his country's support for Bulgaria's accession to the EU on 1 January 2007 if the commitments made in the negotiations process are fulfilled.

Ivailo Kalfin and Bernard Bot also discussed bilateral cooperation and possible ways to enhance it. Mr Bot confirmed his country's readiness to grant aid amounting to USD 2 200 000 for the recovery of the damages inflicted by the flooding in Bulgaria. The two ministers pointed out the good cooperation in the field of economy, finance, border control and agriculture.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivailo Kalfin held a series of meetings in the Dutch parliament, which focused on the final stage of the accession process and the ratification of the Treaty. The procedure for the ratification of Bulgaria's EU accession is already under way and the Second Chamber of the parliament will take a vote on it before Christmas, it was made clear during the meetings.

Minister Kalfin handed a letter, extending an invitation from Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende.