Fifth consecutive summit of the Balkan leaders held in Evksinograd residence

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov hosted the fifth Balkan leaders summit with his counterparts from Greece, Romania and the President of Serbia. The event took place at Evksinograd residence near the coastal city of Varna on 2^nd of November. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a guest of the forum at Borisov's invitation.

Specific projects in the transport and energy infrastructure, and deepening of cooperation in the area of security and fight against terrorism and radical Islam were among the most important topics of the talks.

Bulgaria’s PM said that the fact that this is the second event in this format over the past 6 months, and a new meeting in Belgrade is due to take place in December, was a proof of the productivity of the format for the deepening of regional cooperation.

He described the presence of the guest Benjamin Netanyahu as an excellent opportunity for all countries in the region to expand the strategic contacts with the Israeli state. He praised the idea of Serbian President Vucic to invite Austrian Chancellor Kurz as a guest at the next meeting in Belgrade.

Transport and energy connectivity between the countries of the region and expanding cooperation with Israel in order to diversify gas supplies were a major focus of the talks.

Bulgaria and Greece have agreed to sign a joint declaration on the modernization of the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis railway link and to build a motorway from Alexandroupolis to the Bulgarian-Greek border and from there to Sofia, Varna and Bourgas.

As a potential in this area, the Israeli Prime Minister pointed to the construction of the East-Mediterranean gas pipeline. The Bulgarian Prime Minister focused on the Balkan gas hub.

All five leaders stressed the importance of cooperation in the field of security, fight against terrorism and radical Islam.

Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted the help his country provides to the European countries in that area and mentioned two recent preventions of attacks on Paris and Copenhagen.

The four Balkan leaders have agreed today that Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia will bid for a joint hosting of the Football World Cup in 2030.