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As the main task before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the framework of the caretaker government, Minister Milkov pointed out the organization and holding of the elections for the National Assembly on October 2, 2022 abroad. As of now, about 800 sections are expected to be opened in over 65 countries.
Regarding the accession to Schengen, Milkov stated that the goal of our country is to once again show that it has fulfilled all the criteria for membership. In September, information about the preparations and what has been done in the last 10 years will be presented.
“We are firmly guided by the belief that collective approaches are productive, especially those related to security issues. Our voice will be stronger when it is part of the general European approach”, Minister Milkov pointed out. He defined as critically important the active position of protecting the national interest within the framework of the EU and NATO.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively working on the preparation of the vote abroad. Instructions have been given to our diplomatic missions to request permission from the host countries to hold the elections, and so far consents have been received from 4 countries, including Spain and the Republic of South Africa”, the Chairman of the Elections WG Ivan Kondov said.
Among the leading foreign policy priorities of Bulgaria, Minister Milkov singled out the constructive and active participation of our country in the EU and NATO, joining the Schengen area and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as defending and building on what has been achieved in terms of the European integration of the Western Balkans countries.
With regard to our country’s membership in the OECD, our foreign minister pointed out that in the autumn an ​​opinion will be presented on all the instruments of the Organization related to the further accession process.
Nikolay Milkov introduced both Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Velislava Petrova, who remains in her post and will continue to work mainly on topics related to multilateral diplomacy, and our previous ambassador to Ukraine – Kostadin Kojabashev, who will also perform the functions of spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Svetlana Stoycheva-Etropolski, until recently our ambassador to Canada, has been appointed as the head of the minister’s office.
“We must consolidate and in no way retreat from the breakthrough achieved in the bilateral relations with the Republic of North Macedonia”, Minister Milkov said and added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains strongly committed to this topic.
“We should not allow any problems in the process of organizing and conducting the vote, so that the maximum number of Bulgarian citizens can exercise their right to vote, wherever they are in the world”, the Foreign Minister emphasized.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Milkov presented his team and outlined the main foreign policy priorities of Bulgaria during a briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As before, for the smooth running of the vote abroad, the MFA will rely on the established good coordination with the teams of our foreign representations, as well as on the active cooperation with the representatives of the Bulgarian communities abroad.
For the organization of the elections for Members of Parliament on October 2, 2022, an Elections Working Group was established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the leadership of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov and Ambassador Kalin Anastasov.
