NEWS

Rosen Plevneliev: Parliament Debate will Consolidate Bulgaria’s Position on the Syria Crisis

A broad debate in Parliament on the situation in Syria is necessary, declared today President Rosen Plevneliev in response to a question by a journalist. The crisis in Syria is not only regional, but can turn into a global one. The Head of State expressed his strong view that holding a parliamentary debate on such an important topic is the approach followed by Bulgaria’s partners in the EU and NATO. “In this respect my stand is identical to that of President Obama”, underlined Rosen Plevneliev.

President Plevneliev again underscored that he is ready to immediately c?nvene the Consultative Council for National Security if the situation in the region warrants it.

“Bulgaria is already experiencing difficulties with the placement of refugees from the conflict in Syria and this requires the institutions to do their utmost in solving this issue”, said the President. Rosen Plevneliev expressed his acclaim at the swift reaction by the government and the decision taken to create operational headquarters, with the purpose of monitoring the situation on the border with Turkey and the flow of Syrian refugees into Bulgaria.
In response to a question the Head of State appealed again to Parliament to unite on the declaration of the priorities within its term. According to Rosen Plevneliev this will also allow Parliament to tackle the problems which the protesting citizens have been posing since the beginning of this year – the judicial system, the fight against corruption and the abuse of monopolistic rights, transparency in managing European funds.

President Plevneliev expressed his strong belief that the reform in the “Security” sector should follow the path which was set and approved on the basis of the consensus reached by all political parties in 2012. “At a meeting of the Consultative Council for National Security the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, Political party “Attack”, the Blue Coalition and all institutions united in relation to the common decision taken. This was a great achievement of the state system”, said the President and expressed hope that those in power today will go back to the position of national consensus, reached at the Consultative Council for National Security Meeting of April 25, 2012. “This is the only correct and nationally responsible approach”, underlined Rosen Plevneliev.

The Head of State was today at the opening of the 2013-14 academic year at the Military Academy “Georgi Stoikov Rakovski”. “Education in military schools is up against serious challenges, which require constant adaptation to the new, dynamic security environment. We were confronted with the cruel face and unpredictability of terrorism on the territory of Bulgaria and have to admit that we were not quite ready for such an attack”, said in his speech President Plevneliev. The Head of State underlined that this requires our country to seek deeper cooperation in the security sphere within NATO and the EU. Rosen Plevneliev also noted that with its 101-year history and traditions Military Academy “Georgi Stoikov Rakovski” is rightly considered one of the symbols of the Bulgarian army and state.