Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Stef Blok discussed topical issues on the agenda of Europe as well as topics of mutual interest.

At the meeting, it was underlined that Bulgaria continues to pursue its objective of being as close as possible to the integration processes in the EU. Borisov pointed out that joining the Schengen area and the eurozone are among the main priorities of our country and the support of the Netherlands is one of the keys.

"This will ensure the full participation of Bulgaria in the joint European efforts to adequately address all the challenges related to the security of the EU's external borders," said Boyko Borisov.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands noted that Bulgaria is successfully coping with the protection of Europe's external border. In the course of the talks, Boyko Borisov said that preserving the integrity of the Schengen area requires consistent efforts in two key areas - strengthening the control of our external borders and improving the functioning of the asylum system.

Bulgaria's progress on reforms under the Cooperation and Evaluation Mechanism was also noted during the meeting

"We appreciate the good cooperation with the European Commission on this issue and we expect our European partners to appreciate our good results as well as our determination to continue the process in an irreversible way," Borisov said, quoted by the government's press service.