Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski has said that Bulgaria will not sign the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) unless the US lifts visa requirements.

Lukarski argued Wednesday that Bulgaria’s stance on the TTIP was not much different from that of the other EU Member States, the difference being that Bulgaria wanted the visa regime to be included as a key point in the negotiations.

He explained that the talks had not reached the stage of discussing the US visa requirements, according to reports of investor.bg.

The official stance of the Bulgarian government is that the talks on the TTIP must include the visa issue.

TTIP was one of the main points on the agenda of the recent meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.

Lukarski participated in the latest meeting of the European Commission on the TTIP.

On Tuesday, the European Commission gave a boost to transparency by committing to provide greater access to documents relating to the negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States.

"We want to consult even more extensively on TTIP," said Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstr?m, "and be even more transparent, so we can show clearly what the negotiations are about and de-mystify them. We'll use this as a basis to engage further with stakeholders and the public."

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