Trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Bulgaria and Hungary (Luxembourg, 5 November 2015)

A trilateral meeting was held in Luxembourg today, on the margins of the 12th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, between the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Nikos Kotzias; Bulgaria, Daniel Mitov; and Hungary, Péter Szijjártó.

During the meeting, which took place in a very warm and friendly atmosphere, the potential for further promotion of trilateral cooperation in a number of sectors was considered, with emphasis on the energy sector. More specifically, the three Ministers reaffirmed their desire to work together to implement projects like the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the vertical corridor, and the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB) pipeline, which will benefit their countries as well as European energy security.

The three Ministers agreed to explore the idea of creating a European Energy Security Fund, underscoring that a double standard should not be used within the EU with regard to building of energy infrastructure and emphasizing the importance of diversification of energy sources and routes, as well as the strengthening of connectivity, which will contribute to shaping the European Energy Union.

Special mention was also made of the need to safeguard the security and stability of the Balkan region, through close cooperation between the three countries on a regional level as well as within the EU, where, as member states they can play a key role. In the same direction, it was agreed to explore the potential for closer contacts with existing cooperation platforms, such as the Visegrad Group, as well as the potential for creating new cooperation configurations (e.g., “Balkan plus Visegrad Group”), which could be very useful in confronting the existing challenges.