The economic and social cohesion in the EU has no alternative and Bulgaria and Portugal will continue to work to preserve the Cohesion Policy as a factor for overcoming the discrepancies in Europe. This was the stance shared by President Rumen Radev and the Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic Antonio Costa, who held a meeting today in Lisbon. The two discussed a lot of issues on the EU agenda, among which the debate on Europe’s future, the European prospects of the Western Balkans, and the opportunities for developing the economic relations between Bulgaria and Portugal.

The migratory pressure on Europe requires that the EU member states adopt a new approach and reforms be conducted of the policy pertaining to migration and asylum granting so that not only human rights can be adequately safeguarded, but also the stability of the European countries and the citizens’ security. This was the common stance shared by Rumen Radev and Marcelo Rebelo de Suosa, who held talks in Lisbon today. The Bulgarian President is on a state visit to the Republic of Portugal at the invitation of his counterpart.