The presidents of Bulgaria and Italy have discussed trade and investment links between their countries, diversification of energy supplies to Europe and the migration crisis during a meeting in Rome.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, on a two-day working visit to Italy, have also discussed  the future enlargement of the EU and the Union’s relations with its neighbours with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, the President’s Office in Sofia said in a news release on Thursday.

The two presidents supported the view that the EU should come up with a common policy for the integration and repatriation of the refugees crossing EU borders.

“Europe can deal with this challenge only through common efforts and united actions,” Plevneliev said.

Mattarella said that the EU should not only strengthen the control of its external borders but also increase the exchange of information related to terrorism among its member states. 

Plevneliev also invited Mattarrella to visit Bulgaria accompanied by a business delegation, highlighting the fact that Italy is among the 10 biggest foreign investors in Bulgaria.

Italian investments in Bulgaria amounted to EUR 19 M in 2014 and totalled close to EUR 1.5 B for the period 1996-2014. Trade turnover between Bulgaria and Italy has increased by 30%, reaching EUR 4.2 B, which makes Italy the second largest trade partner of Bulgaria in the European Union, after Germany, Plevneliev said.

The signing of an investment agreement for the construction of a gas interconnector  between Bulgaria and Greece, in which an Italian company would take part, was a real step towards diversification of energy supplies in Europe, Plevneliev said.

The 180-kilometre gas pipeline will be built by a Bulgarian-Greek joint venture that also includes Italian energy group Edison SpA.

While in Rome, Plevneliev also attended the high-level preparatory meeting for the Fourth Global Baku Forum together with former presidents of Italy, Romania, Poland, Croatia and Serbia. The meeting was held under the motto “Addressing Radicalisation and Extremism with Interfaith Dialogue for Peace: What Works?”

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