Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press - August 13, 2004
Schroeder also expressed concern about the security situation in Iraq and pledged his support for five Bulgarian nurses condemned to death in Libya for allegedly infecting more than 400 children with the AIDS virus.
After talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski, Schroeder stressed that Germany continues to support Bulgaria's admission into the E.U., which is tentatively scheduled for 2007.
"At the European Council this coming November or December, we will announce the official completion of negotiations, and I hope Bulgaria's accession treaty will be signed in the spring of next year," Schroeder said.
The chancellor stopped in Sofia on the second leg of a brief Balkan tour that took him first to Romania, where he visited the grave of his father, who died as a German soldier during World War II.
Iraq was a main topic of Schroeder's talks in Bulgaria, which has contributed 480 troops to the multinational coalition.
"The security situation in Iraq must be a concern for everyone," Schroeder told reporters after the meeting with Saxcoburggotski. "Instability in Iraq is instability that affects the whole region and beyond."
Schroeder noted that Germany is training Iraqi police and is considering help in training the Iraqi military, but reiterated that Germany won't send troops to Iraq.
Schroeder also pledged his support for the Bulgarian nurses who, along with a Palestinian doctor, were sentenced to death in Libya after being convicted of infecting hundreds of children with HIV during a visit to the North African nation.
The chancellor said that during a telephone conversation with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi he "made it very clear that we want a humanitarian solution to this problem."
Schroeder said there was still no exact date for his visit to Libya announced earlier this week after Tripoli agreed to pay a $35 million settlement to victims of a 1986 Berlin bombing.
Schroeder's visit to Sofia came as automaker Daimler-Chrysler AG (DCX) announced it would deliver 112 vehicles to Bulgaria's Defense Ministry.
The deal is part of a larger project that the U.S.-German automotive corporation signed last December for the supply of a total of 12,900 transport vehicles for the Bulgarian army.
The chancellor cited the prospects for further German investments in Bulgaria especially in infrastructure and energy projects.
"Bulgaria is a stable partner in the region -politically as well as economically," Schroeder said.
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