At the end of June the “presidency trio” of Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria announced 5 important priorities, part of their joint 18-month program of the Council of the EU. Since then, on various occasions and at different levels, Bulgaria explained the priorities of its upcoming EU presidency, which starts on January 1 next year. The official presentation of the national program with the priorities for the presidency is expected in mid-December, but the government has already started announcing some of the positions it would hold during the presidency.

Regarding the priority sphere of security, stability and border protection, during last week’s European Council meeting, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that Bulgaria would oppose termination of the EU's agreement with Turkey on migration. Bulgaria is also against stopping negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the European Union. The prime minister warned the agreement should not be touched as Ankara was observing its clauses and thanks to this fact, Bulgaria was now registering zero migration pressure. If the agreement was terminated Bulgaria would not be able to stop the flow of migrants to Europe. According to the Prime Minister, talking about Turkey's accession to the EU right now wasn’t serious but EU’s relations with Turkey should still be preserved.

The Prime Minister also voiced his views on the dynamic topic of the common European defense. Prior to the European Council meeting last week, a discussion was held in Bulgaria on the possibilities of creating common European defense structures. During the discussion, President Rumen Radev said that during its EU presidency Bulgaria should try and put real security issues on the agenda of the European Union and change its "own attitude towards security" and the messages it sends to its partners. Borissov’s message to partners in Brussels on this topic was that before spending billions of euros on aircraft, tanks or artillery, the EU should think about who the actual enemy was. An answer to the question where one should buy military equipment from was also needed, because Greece is currently planning the purchase of military equipment from the United States after five years of European countries collecting funds to help it exit the crisis. A well-balanced common European defense policy, would provide for buying European military equipment.

Questioned about Brexit issues, which will also mark the Bulgarian EU presidency, Borissov said one should isolate emotions and make pragmatic decisions with the understanding that it is Britain that leaves the EU and the future of EU’s citizens is what the bloc should focus on. In this context, Bulgaria will be guided by the principle of protecting the interests of citizens of the EU Member States. According to Borissov, such an approach to the problem would not harm bilateral relations with the UK, which were rated as excellent during Borissov’s recent meeting with Teresa May in Brussels.

Speaking about Bulgaria's priority topic of the European integration of the Western Balkans, Borissov said Sofia would focus on the need to ensure economic development, infrastructure development and digital connectivity of the region with the European Union.

English: Alexander Markov