NEWS

The President in Berlin: the EU must loudly voice its opinion on the events in Ukraine

The Head of State Rosen Plevneliev and the President of Germany Joachim Gauck debated the situation in Ukraine and the issues on the European agenda in the context of the elections for European Parliament. The meeting between the two held in the Bellevue palace in Berlin marked the beginning of President Plevneliev’s two-day visit to the Federal Republic of Germany.
 
President Rosen Plevneliev and Joachim Gauck shared the opinion that the European Union must loudly voice its opinion on the Ukrainian crisis. “The events unfolding in Ukraine are on the agenda of all European institutions. We share the concern about Russia’s policy and the view that today everyone in Europe should pool efforts to restore the basic fundamentals of the foreign policy of the post World War Two period and the fundamentals of the European order whereby everyone should respect the rule of law and stick to the rules,” Rosen Plevneliev said after the meeting held with President Gauck.

“The borders in Europe cannot be unilaterally changed by force. The events that took place in Crimea are unacceptable and we must clearly voice our position,” the Head of State was adamant.

In Rosen Plevneliev’s and Joachim Gauck’s view, a further destabilization of Ukraine may lead to a wider destabilization. The Bulgarian President once again reiterated that the Ukrainian people have the right to alone decide their future by holding fair and democratic elections. “The Ukrainians themselves should decide whether there will be a federalization or centralization and they should have the chance to build their future,” Rosen Plevneliev commented. He added that the EU must work so as to provide the Ukrainian people the chance to voice their opinion at democratic elections, not to allow the “Great Powers” to decide the future of one nation or another. “This takes us back to the past and is very dangerous,” the Head of State emphasized.

During the talks President Plevneliev highlighted the importance of the policy of EU enlargement in the context of the Ukrainian crisis and particularly that of the EU integration of the Western Balkan countries, which Bulgaria firmly supports.

As for the upcoming elections for European Parliament, which will also decide who the President of the future European Commission will be, the two presidents voiced their hope that conducting a high-quality debate will make possible the nomination of competent and strong representatives in the European Parliament.

“We would like to see an integrated and strong European Union. The solutions does not lie in destabilization, isolation and a periphery vs Great Powers play, the solution lies in supporting and strengthening the three engines of the European Union – democracy, market economy and integration,” the Bulgarian President summarized.

During the first day of his working visit to Germany, Rosen Plevneliev also held talks with Bundestag MPs. The Head of State will also hold a meeting with the Bulgarian community in Berlin.