At the present moment there is no talk yet about EU economic pressure against Libya, German Ambassador to Sofia Michael Geier said at a news conference on Tuesday asked if the German EU Presidency would support increasing the economic pressure against Libya in connection with the AIDS case there involving the five Bulgarian nurses.

The German Ambassador said that during his visit to Sofia on January 1, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the topic with his Bulgarian counterpart Ivaylo Kalfin and with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. At the meeting the German Foreign Minister reiterated clearly what he told the Bulgarian public, namely, that the efforts in this regard will be further strengthened and made clearer still, said Ambassador Geier.

The German diplomat said that Steinmeier felt personally insulted after the death sentences against the Bulgarian nurses were announced on December 19, 2006, because, having visited Libya shortly before that, all the officials he conferred with from the Libyan leadership, including by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi himself, gave him hope that the problem will soon cease to exist.

At Tuesday's news conference, Ambassador Geier set out the priorities of the German Presidency of the EU which his country took over on January 1. The main task of Germany during its six-months' EU Presidency will be to continue the European constitutional process. Another priority is the EU's economic and social policy, as well as the energy policy, the need to diversify the energy sources and reduce energy consumption.

Among the priorities of the German Presidency of the EU is also the care about the EU citizens who as consumers need the greatest level of security, transparency and freedom of choice, as well as safe and healthy foods.

In the area of justice and home affairs Bulgaria takes on the heavy burden from Germany of being the EU external border, Ambassador Geier said. The goal of the German EU Presidency in this respect is to strengthen the cooperation among the EU member states in the anti-terror fight, in achieving greater security and respect for human rights and freedoms.

This project has been initiated by the Bulgarian Government.
It is being executed by a group of professional Bulgarian journalists and with the support of the Bulgarian News Agency, aimed at making Bulgaria better known in the EU at the important time of its accession.

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