NEWS

President Plevneliev: The Sarafovo airport attack is a European problem and will be handled with all the strength, competence and solidarity of the European institutions

“What I can guarantee is that this terrible act of terrorism will make the democratic world even stronger. Only integrated and together can we be up to facing the threats of the 21st century,” President Rosen Plevneliev told reporters in Varna today.

The President told journalists that Bulgaria had a very balanced foreign policy and is a good friend and neighbour, but what happened at the airport in Burgas meant that the country had to reset some of its systems and become better able to cope with the risks of the 21st century. “Let us be clear that the attack at Sarafovo airport was an attack on a European airport. In my conversations with Herman Van Rompuy and other European leaders, the position was very clearly reinforced that this is a European problem and it will be handled with all the strength, competence and solidarity of the European institutions,” President Plevneliev said.

Today the President visited the Faith, Hope and Love Children's Centre in the village of Kichevo, which houses 80 children from poor families, aged from four to 15 years. The centre was built with assistance from the state, the municipality of Aksakovo and the St Andrei Social Association, of which the Varna and Veliki Metropolitanate and the German Libenau and St Francis foundations are members. The association has been taking care of the children for 12 years, providing 500 000 leva a year for the purpose.

“I would like to see the mechanisms in Bulgaria 2020 expand opportunities and best practices of public-private partnerships in which the EU funds for Bulgaria in 2014-2020 are not just for absorption and spending, but represent a multiplier for larger projects. That is why these achievements on the ground are so important. Donors, the community, the church, the state, together each contributing something, and the effect is much greater,” the President said. He said that when projects made sense, they would always be able to attract funding so that they could be implemented, and he said that the establishment of the children’s centre in the village of Kichevo was a very good example in this regard.

Rosen Plevneliev said that those who donated should at very least be praised. The president gave a television set and books to the residents of the home and invited them to visit the Presidency.