A country is not governed by shunning responsibility, by qualifications, slogans, opposing some sectors of the economy and society to others. This is what President Rumen Radev told reporters in NYC in response to a question about the protests against the government, undertaken by various organisations of producers and trade unionists.
The state must be governed in such a way that it has the trust of the people and they will give their trust when they see that the government puts the Bulgarian interests, the Bulgarian economy and the Bulgarian citizens first. When this is not perceived and there are problems, the credit of trust is exhausted very quickly and people start to solve their issues with protests, Rumen Radev added.
Responding to a question about the government's promises to allocate the necessary funding to support producers, the President pointed out that trust remained a key issue because Bulgarians had been lied to repeatedly and did not rely on occasional compromises, accommodations and patching up. People want to see sustainable policies and solutions, and to see them, there must be a clear vision, determination and dialogue and their interests must be put first, not those of another country, Rumen Radev said. The head of state called on the government and the producers to hold talks about the problems in the sector and to seek sustainable solutions that would give a clear perspective for the future and there would be more justice.
The President recalled that in September last year it was Bulgaria that raised the issue of the potential danger of excessive imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, not only grain, with the European Commission and the issue was discussed by the European institutions so that there was a timely reaction. It was not easy, it took months, but Bulgaria helped the EU to understand the problem, its dynamics and its potential to bring instability to the Union itself, so that it could react in time, the head of state stressed.
Responding to a question whether the protesting producers in Bulgaria could not reach a production method that would be competitive on the EU market, unlike producers in other member states, the President reminded that the agricultural subsidies between Bulgaria and other EU countries had not yet been equalised. That is why the Bulgarian state should pay much more attention to this sector, because it has suffered several times. There is no equality of subsidies, and therefore the distribution of subsidies within the country is not regulated in the best way, Rumen Radev said. Therefore, a clear, sustainable and proactive policy is needed in Bulgaria and in the EU itself.
Asked to what extent the producers in Bulgaria were harmed after they had received huge subsidies, the President pointed out that the question was debatable and difficult, but it should be asked to previous Bulgarian governments that, in his words, facilitated exactly such a mechanism to distribute the money. It is clear that there are problems and injustices in the formation of subsidies and their distribution and in the way the production is sold, but this does not mean that the people who feed us should be blamed, the head of state stressed.
In response to a question whether the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) was part of the government, Radev reminded that the MRF was involved in the important processes in the constitutional changes, which determine our future from now on. The MRF votes for the decisions of the government and its formation, so regardless of what it will be called, it is important who makes these decisions, who together leads the state, the President said.