President Rosen Plevneliev announced that the elections for MEPs from the Republic of Bulgaria will be held on 25 May 2014. In his address to the National Assembly, the Head of State summarized the consensus reached on the priority topics for the country within the traditional “Month of political consultations” that has already ended.
The elections for MEPs in May will provide the opportunity for holding a debate on the European agenda and on Bulgaria’s role in the development of the EU, the President emphasized in his address. He called on the political parties to conduct a responsible European campaign, not merely be involved in a collision on domestic issues. “The EU is a unique project, the only one in the world in which no matter how big you are, you are important. Both the smallest and biggest member states have an equal right to impose a veto. The EU is a workshop for ideas, it is a platform for development. The engine of European integration is working – look at the changes that have taken place in our region. It is worth adopting a serious attitude to the debate on the future of our Union,” Rosen Plevneliev said from the parliamentary rostrum.
The President emphasized that against the background of the crisis in Ukraine, Europe should above all focus on Moldova and Georgia and sign an Association agreement with them as soon as possible, “including an agreement with Ukraine, if it is willing to.” “One of the EU’s main achievements in the past 15 years is the spread of democracy to the East. This process should continue,” the Head of State was adamant.
Rosen Plevneliev said that the international community should pool efforts to guarantee Ukraine’s territorial integrity and democratic foundations by observing the international law that precludes the invasion of a sovereign country. The people of Ukraine have the right to alone decide what their future will be, which will happen if fair and democratic elections are held, Plevneliev emphasized and recalled that if the conflict in Ukraine escalates, he will convene the Consultative Council for National Security.
“One of the lessons that we can draw from the crisis in Ukraine is related to the effect the systematic breach of the principles on which the rule-of-law state is based can have. Imposing an oligarchic model on the economy, the concentration of media and the disrespect for the rule of law, façade democracy and endemic corruption largely contributed to the crisis in Ukraine and hopefully we will draw our conclusions in Bulgaria,” the Head of State further said in his address to Parliament.