Greek-Bulgarian High Level Cooperation Council (Sofia, 27 July 2010)

Prime Minister George A. Papandreou will be Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday, 27 July, to participate in the founding session of the Greek-Bulgarian High Level Cooperation Council. This meeting comes to further the already close cooperation between the two countries, which are NATO allies, partners in the EU, and maintain relations of strategic importance.

The High Level Cooperation Council will be chaired by the Greek and Bulgarian Prime Ministers and will also be attended by Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas and a number of other Greek Ministers: Defense Minister Evangelos Venizelos; Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Change Tina Birbili; Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas; Labor and Social Insurances Minister Andreas Loverdos; Agricultural Development and Food Minister Katerina Batzeli; Minister of Citizens’ Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis; Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos; and Deputy Minister of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping Markos Bolaris. These Ministers will have bilateral meetings with their Bulgarian counterparts, followed by the signing of agreements in the presence of the two Prime Ministers.

The founding of the Greek-Bulgarian High Level Cooperation Council sends the message to all the countries of the Western Balkans that Greek-Bulgarian cooperation can serve as a model for all the countries in the region ahead of their European integration, which is the basic objective of Greece’s “Agenda 2014” initiative.