“I would like to welcome his Excellency, the Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, my friend Nikolay Nankov Nenchev, for his official visit to the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence. We had the opportunity to discuss and reach decisions concerning the new geopolitical situation shaping in the broader region.
Greece and Bulgaria, Bulgaria and Greece, are a core of stability for the European Union, NATO, the Balkans, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. We are countries of first reception for this huge flow of migrants moving from the East to the West. Of course, this is not only Greece’s or Bulgaria’s issue, it is a European issue and it should be faced as such.
Our countries decided to have close relations and common positions at European Union, as well as at NATO, level. Therefore, we shall jointly prepare the meeting in Luxemburg and Warsaw, we shall exchange views and closely cooperate on the migration issue, since the migration flow is expected to change many times its entry point. Today it is Greece, tomorrow it may be Bulgaria and after that Italy. Therefore, it is very important to have a common policy and mutually take decisions at European level.
However at NATO level as well, since SNMG 2 forces have been deployed in the Aegean, these decisions taken at political level should be implemented and the migrant issue, which is different than the refugee issue, must be immediately faced.
Consequently, we jointly reached decisions, and these decisions are related to further discussions at military and defence level. Mr. Minister and I will give political directives and the Chiefs of Staffs, who have already begun a close cooperation, will carry into effect the common planning by organising mutual exercises and exchanging training and, at the same time, with common military planification which will help the forming of a Balkan policy in NATO context.
I believe that it was a great moment in history when we decided to make a proposal to Romania for a tripartite meeting and the establishment of a common platform. The conceivable axis Romania – Bulgaria – Greece – Cyprus – Israel – Egypt will become a crucial alliance of these countries, which are at the same side, against terrorism, with the aim of stopping terrorism, as well as fundamentalism which is currently exported to Europe.
We also have other issues which relate to the protection of our borders in regard of the utilisation –by Defence Ministries– of European funds, through the existing EU programmes, but also of programmes we shall file together; these programmes concern the collection of intelligence, the equipment of the Armed Forces for the protection of borders, as well as the development of new technologies such as cyber war, satellite technologies, optical observation with thermal cameras or with UAVs.
This will be from now on the subject-matter of the Committees that will be formed in our General Staffs and, at the same time, our countries’ common position, as a Balkan team in NATO and EU context, will shape a new era for the two alliances, the European Union and NATO.
Today’s meeting is only the beginning. We agreed with Mr. Minister that we will also meet in Sofia, before the Warsaw Summit. We also intend to have the tripartite meeting, so as to promptly have results which will be to the benefit of a common policy on issues that, in the Balkans, Bulgaria and Greece are more familiar with”.
