VARNA, Bulgaria (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at a French-style palace on the Black Sea coast for talks with Bulgarian leaders on the final leg of his three-day tour to central and eastern Europe.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev greeted Macron and his wife Brigitte for Friday's opening ceremony.

The setting for the discussions, which will focus on business, investment and Europe's passport-free Schengen zone that Bulgaria wants to join, is a 19th-century former summer royal palace north of Varna. The communist elite used to use the palace which is now host to high-level government meetings.

Bulgaria also wants to join the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, an international body of nations that seeks to promote policies to economic growth and social well-being.