NEWS

The Head of State: in the Past Year Bulgaria was a Factor of Stability in the Region and the EU

We sent off a year of great tension and lack of predictability. 2015 was marked by failed states, frozen conflicts, wars, including hybrid and conventional ones, terror acts, an unprecedented migration wave, a record number of crises and migrants and extreme instability in the world. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said at the traditional reception of the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Bulgaria. The Head of State highlighted that the security environment and the global agenda have deteriorated and completely changed.

“Despite the challenges this country faced, Bulgaria was a factor of stability in the region and the EU. We performed our responsible role as a pro-European force in the Balkans and a responsible EU and NATO member-state. 2015 was a year of an active and principled Bulgarian foreign policy,” President Plevneliev said in the statement he made.

“Although we respect the human rights of the refugees, we also guard our borders well. We are working to ensure connectivity and integration in the Balkans. However we expect that the rules and principles of good neighborliness and objective presentation of our common history will be obeyed by all,” Rosen Plevneliev said and added that in the past year “Bulgaria was a source of solutions, not problems.”

The Head of State said in the speech he delivered that our country should be more ambitious. “We would like to launch a new wave of European integration projects, for instance by joining the exchange rate mechanism ERMII, with a follow-up membership in the Euro zone, by joining the European Banking Union, by becoming a full Schengen member, by speeding up the establishment of the European Energy Union.  Currently we can practically prove that there are no big and small states in the EU namely because everyone can be part of the solution as long as the country is active and ambitious,” the President said.

The Head of State recalled that the EU is a platform for the countries that ensures that they can develop and progress and called on for refraining from restoring the policies of great powers and spheres of interest.

The big, yet quite dangerous game from the 19th century must not be continued. The 21st century requires new ideas, not readopting fallacious ideologies from the past. We need a high-quality debate on how to ensure lasting peace and the rule of law in Europe and in the world. And we can ensure peace only if the strong and weak, the big and small, the rich and poor are equal before international law and if rules are valid for all,” Rosen Plevneliev emphasized.
 
In the speech he delivered before the diplomatic representatives, the Head of State highlighted that in domestic terms, stabilization was achieved in 2015, which in turn created the opportunity to focus on modernizing and reforming important state and economic sectors. Rosen Plevneliev added that the judicial reform was in the center of Bulgaria’s public and political life in 2015. Amendments of the Judiciary System Act and of the procedural laws are forthcoming, as well as adopting a strong anti-corruption legislation. I will highly appreciate any effort to accelerate the reform and speed up the actions related to it,” the Head of State said.

The President was adamant that terrorism is a challenge and threat, which the countries can cope with only together. “Although the terrorists can be defeated only by the international anti-terrorist coalition, which Bulgaria is an active member of, their ideology cannot be eliminated with weapons. The ideology of terrorism can be defeated through education, and integration of the poor and marginalized groups in society. Terror acts are not a clash of civilizations, but a clash between human civilization and cruelty. We should continue to be tolerant, to safeguard human rights and freedoms, to respect the different if we do not want the terrorists to win,” the Head of State said.

The fact that Bulgaria took over the chairmanship-in-office of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP), as well as the fact that the country will host the Arraiolos group in 2016, is undoubtedly a clear recognition of the international prestige Bulgaria enjoys, President Rosen Plevneliev further highlighted in his speech and said that our country is a factor that cannot be disregarded in the Balkans. “I will work to ensure that the Balkans become a field of international cooperation, not of geopolitical competition. Integration, connectivity and good-neighborliness, these are our principles. We believe in friendship, shared values and the rule of law,” the Bulgarian Head of State further said.

On behalf of the diplomatic missions accredited in Bulgaria, Palestinian Ambassador in Bulgaria Ahmed al-Madbooh said that 2015 witnessed a number of conflicts and armed clashes in different parts of the world. “We witnessed escalation of terrorism to critical levels, killings of innocent people, which have forced millions of people to seek refuge away from their homeland and to head for Europe via the Middle East,” the doyen of the diplomatic corps in Bulgaria said. However, the international community has become more united and alert, more vigilant and dedicated to solving these conflicts peacefully, the diplomat said. “We are convinced in you and your ability to lead Bulgaria ahead toward a brighter future,” Ambassador al-Madbooh addressed President Rosen Plevneliev and wished the Bulgarian people a bright future, prosperity and success.

“We should work together for achieving a world without wars and occupations. We should direct our attention to what unites us so as to achieve a world without racism, without ethnic and religious discrimination,” Palestinian Ambassador to Bulgaria further called on for.