PM Glavchev at Berlin Process summit: We support EU enlargement, but in compliance with the shared conditions and the established procedure

"We have always been of the position that every country that is a candidate for EU membership must have its own merits for its participation in the European Union, and respect all the rights and responsibilities it has agreed to in the process. So we are very much in favour of EU enlargement, but the process should follow the shared conditions and the established procedure that are known to all," Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said in Berlin, where he participated in the Berlin Process summit on October 14.

The caretaker Prime Minister stressed that in terms of bilateral meetings in the course of the process, it was proposed that the negotiations be extended to the level of the EU candidate state in order to avoid contradictions between two countries.

"We have already applied this approach with the Republic of North Macedonia, and we are obviously making progress, because during the meeting this was highlighted as a successful example of a country negotiating with the entire European Union," he added.

The prime minister commented that during the meeting it became clear that Montenegro will close the negotiating chapters by the end of the year and that Albania is expected to start opening negotiating chapters in this period. It was hoped that Serbia could also open negotiating chapters in early 2025.

"Regarding the Green Agenda we participated in, I focused on the particularly important role of Corridor No. 8, which connects Italy, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria, going west to east. Reaching Varna and Burgas, the corridor will also provide access to the north-south axis from Greece to Romania, which has a global dimension. We stressed the importance of this corridor," Glavchev added.

The caretaker Prime Minister made a speech in the second panel of the forum on "Green Agenda, Connectivity, Energy". The Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister focused on the development of transport corridors, such as the Trans-European Transport Network, which will reduce trade barriers and improve mobility in the region. Glavchev also highlighted energy connectivity, as well as investment in energy infrastructure and renewables. These are vital to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and aligning with the Western Balkans' green agenda.

The Berlin Process was established in 2014 as a platform to strengthen cooperation between the Western Balkan countries and the host countries of the Berlin Process as well as the EU.