Press Advisories
4. 10. 201116:52
The Prime Ministers of Czech Republic and Bulgaria: We don’t want to enter into a debt union
The Prime Ministers of Czech Republic and Bulgaria held a meeting about the future of the European currency, the entry of Bulgaria into the Schengen zone and socially excluded localities.
“The Bulgarian government as well as the Czech government rejects to state a concrete date of their accession to the Euro – nobody knows how this project will develop,” said the Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas after the meeting. The Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov confirmed that his country is also in no rush to enter the Eurozone. “We don’t want to enter directly into debts,” said the Prime Minister Borissov. “Both our countries belong to a coalition of fiscally responsible countries,“ emphasized the Czech Prime Minister.
Both Prime Ministers strongly objected to the present stances of some of the EU members, who do not support Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen zone. "We consider it to be a very unfair dealing, if there are more demands made on Bulgaria, which are above and beyond the conditions necessary for the accession to the Schengen zone,” said Petr Nečas. According to him Bulgaria has done a huge amount of work worth huge amounts of financial resources to meet the Schengen criteria. “We consider the attitude of some EU members, who make more and more additional demands, not only unfair and incorrect, but I dare to say non-European or anti-European,” stated the Czech Prime Minister.
Motivation shall be the key to the Roma regular school attendance
The Prime Ministers also discussed the socially excluded localities. The governments of both countries are attempting to motivate the Roma community to observe the regular school attendance of their children. According to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, most eastern countries have the same problem. “In Bulgaria we also try to get the children from these socially excluded localities to schools. It is our priority task. We even provide lunches for them and try to motivate them to stay in schools so that the Roma children get education,” said the Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
The Czech government recently adopted a strategy of combating social exclusion. The goal, according to Petr Nečas, is to bind the payment of social benefits to regular school attendance of the children. “Of course the housing problem has to be solved as well, as there are closed enclaves arising. Therefore the goal is also to prevent artificial migration into select localities, where these social problems concentrate. We want the same rules for everyone regardless of their ethnic origin,” added the Prime Minister.
Among other discussed topics were energetics, transport infrastructure development, environment, sewage treatment plants, water management or railroad modernization. Both Prime Ministers also agreed on support for the European integration of the Western Balkan countries.