SPEECHES AND STATEMENTS

Full text of the Speech by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, at the opening ceremony of the 10th Delphi Economic Forum

This year we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Delphi Economic Forum. One of the most valuable international forums, where key stakeholders meet in this wonderful historic place, inspired by its rich history, to share ideas for the future.

I will begin by congratulating my dear colleague, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Tasoulas, for his profound overview of the complex history of our region.

Here in the Balkans, each country has its own perception of history. And this reminds me of a famous thought by the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard: "You can only understand life by looking backwards, but you can live your life only looking forward."

I would say that, in my opinion, the most important lessons from our shared history, between Greece and Bulgaria, are that, after centuries of rivalries and contradictions, we have finally realized that cooperation is a much better option than wars.

Today, Greece and Bulgaria are strategic partners, building a strong axis of stability and security, thus offering much better opportunities and prospects for the entire region.

This is my ninth year as President and I would say it has never been more difficult to talk about the future.
Furthermore, when it comes to security, there is always a deeply conflicting image within me, between the former commander of the Bulgarian Air Force, the former graduate of the United States Air Force College, and the politician. Why? Because the dynamics in geopolitical processes have acquired an unprecedented speed.
The security architecture is collapsing. Long-established business models are collapsing. New sweeping tariffs are already shaking markets and stagnation has taken hold in leading European economies. 

What should be the EU's response, the level of our ambitions and the EU's strategy in this seemingly chaotic new world order?

I would like to highlight a few keywords that reflect the EU's ability to face today's challenges, emerge stronger tomorrow and strengthen its role on the world stage: security, strategic autonomy, competitiveness, capital market, innovations and artificial intelligence, energy and, above all, unity.

However, to face the challenges of tomorrow, we must first learn the lessons of our past. Otherwise, our efforts, money, and time will hardly bear fruit. We must find the strength and courage to answer difficult questions honestly. 

Why did we allow ourselves to lose the battle for innovations and technologies with other global powers?

Why did we allow the energy crisis and why did we allow natural gas and energy in the US and China to be several times cheaper than in the European Union?

Why is it difficult, even impossible, for the EU to make quick decisions?

Could we have prevented the war in Ukraine?

Why does Russia continue to produce four times as much ammunition, as stated by the NATO Secretary 

General, despite the critical economic superiority of the collective West?

Why, despite the colossal economic and military support to Ukraine, are the results on the battlefield far from what was initially planned and expected?

What is the level and effectiveness of our cooperation and relations with the countries of the Global South, which continue to purchase Russian energy resources, rendering sanctions null and void?

Will we allow Russia and the US to negotiate peace in Europe without Europe?

Whatever the answers, the EU needs military power and a simplified decision-making process in our increasingly contested world. However, we must keep in mind that simply procuring weapons does not necessarily lead to defensive capabilities. And we should be very careful here, because I believe that the biggest challenges we have ahead of us, to make Europe much stronger in its defense capabilities, are to overcome the fragmented European defense industry and to convince European citizens that security costs money and is worth paying for.

Achieving strategic autonomy and the necessary level of common European defense will require a lot of money and effort.

First of all, we must have a clear political vision and a common defense strategy.  It is obvious that our security will continue to depend on transatlantic relations, which should be maintained and further developed. Our common task today is to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine and pave the way for a sustainable peace, finally harnessing the power of diplomacy and not wasting any more historic time.

The outcome of our efforts will determine not only the future security architecture, but also our economic growth and competitiveness.

In the long term, our security will become increasingly dependent on our economic strength, based on a common security, based on a common industrial and financial policy in a very strong European capital market. Why capital market? I remember that at COP29 in Baku, last November, I had a very interesting discussion with Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the IMF, about the differences between the economic dynamics of the US and the EU, who is Bulgarian.

In her opinion, the European capital market is small, fragile and fragmented. And our money is concentrated mainly in banks, where it is safe, but lazy. While in the United States, financial resources are concentrated mainly in strong capital markets, with increased risk, but with dynamism and confidence in the scope of technological innovation, within this process. So we need to take a strong lesson from this.

Another pillar that contributes to our strategic autonomy is energy security and diversification. Both Bulgaria and Greece continue to be a strong example of very successful strategic cooperation in these very important areas.
The natural gas Interconnector, which we launched in 2022, the floating LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, where Bulgaria is a 20% shareholder, the electricity network between Nea Santa and Maritsa, the Vertical gas corridor. In fact, last week we started construction work on our territory. All these projects contribute to energy security and diversification, not only in our two countries, but also in our allies and partners, such as Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Slovakia and other countries.

The S2S multimodal transport corridor, the oil pipeline between Alexandroupolis and Burgas, will further contribute to our strategic cooperation.

There are, however, many other new areas, in which we can successfully cooperate, by exploiting future technologies, such as renewable energy production and storage. There is plenty of sun, not today, (sic) in Greece, and huge, high mountain water dams in Bulgaria, extremely suitable for pumped storage power plants, which can accommodate and store huge amounts of green energy. Coming not only from Greece, where some courageous projects of green energy transmission, via undersea cables of the Mediterranean from North Africa and Asia. These are very courageous and I am sure, strategic projects, for the future.

Other areas of the future are artificial intelligence production factories and databases. Greece has a serious experience in database development. We in Bulgaria have a very strong IT sector. And a nuclear power plant, which provides stable, reliable electricity. As for Artificial Intelligence, both of our countries were selected by EuroHPC for artificial intelligence development centers in Eastern Europe. So we have all the conditions to cooperate extremely successfully and effectively.

I believe that our strong cooperation and commitment to cohesion and security in the EU demonstrate that our region is a reliable external border of the EU, not a periphery of the Union. And I am confident that our two countries will continue to integrate deeper into the EU. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to our Greek friends for their strong support for our accession to the Schengen area. Finally, starting from 1 January this year, our people can travel freely and this will further strengthen our interaction in many, many areas of mutual interest, not only in tourism.

Finally, a few words about Bulgaria. In our contribution to NATO, to deterrence and defense capabilities and to the security of the EU, Bulgaria has embarked on a strong modernization program. Last week we received our first aircraft from the new F-16 Black 70 squadron. Together with Lürssen, we are building state-of-the-art warships for our navy in Bulgaria. By the end of this year, we will receive the first Stryker armored vehicles for our army. The Bulgarian defense industry is well-known and appreciated worldwide.

A number of new investment projects are underway, while existing capacities are being modernized. Last week, we hosted the Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, at my invitation, in Bulgaria, in this context.

And fortunately, in accordance with the new European priorities, we have managed over the years to maintain our, I would say, rich traditions in raw materials and heavy industry. We are sixth in Europe in the mining and processing of non-ferrous metals, such as copper and lead. Of course, we have also managed to develop competitive sectors of our economy, such as the automotive industry, robotics, mechatronics, IT and Space industry. As an example, I will mention that a Bulgarian space company in recent years has produced and launched micro and mini satellites, three times more than all the Balkan countries combined.

In conclusion, I am confident that a united Europe will overcome the current challenges, emerge stronger tomorrow and increase its influence in our turbulent world, provided that it continues to understand the importance and depth of the threats, to rise to the occasion and, of course, to create common strategies of action, in order to succeed in the future. Each member state should offer its own share in this direction.

Bulgaria is and will always be part of Europe, as throughout its history, my country has contributed substantially to European culture, something we will continue to do, taking on our fair share."