Hungarian Prime Minister Orban to visit Bulgaria

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit Bulgaria this Friday 20 December, according to BGNES and a number of other Bulgarian media. The information has not yet been confirmed by the Bulgarian authorities. "Welcome Viktor Orban to Bulgaria. Trump's man for Europe lands on Friday!" Georgi Markov, a former Constitutional Court judge and former GERB MP, wrote on his Facebook profile.

Mr Orban is expected to hold talks with President Rumen Radev and GERB-SDS leader Boyko Borisov. One of the issues likely to be discussed is the transit of Russian natural gas through the Balkan Stream pipeline to EU countries, including Hungary. Payments for this are made through Gazprombank, which has been sanctioned by the US.

• Bulgaria is grateful for Hungary's support for Schengen

We recall that on Friday 13th December in Sofia, the Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov and the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjártó discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation between Bulgaria and Hungary to ensure energy security in the region.