Europe’s strength lies in the fact that we can solve the problems together and create a common market with common rules for a democratic and prospering community. This is what Rosen Plevneliev said at the debate titled “What keeps Europe together?” which was held today in Vienna. The European Union is not an “accounting union for the EU funds” and is not simply a common market. “It is a union of values and democratic states which build their future together,” the head of state emphasized at the forum held in Vienna’s Burgtheater.
Bulgaria was in the spotlight during the debate in which Hainz Fischer, Federal President of Austria and Johannes Hahn, EU commissioner for regional policy, participated. President Rosen Plevneliev is the first Bulgarian statesman who took part in the debate, the initiative for which was launched by the Institute for Human Sciences in Austria, the ERSTE foundation, Burgtheater and the prestigious Der Standard daily.
Regarding the situation in Bulgaria the head of state recalled once again that he supports the civil protests, voicing hopes that the positive civil energy will lead to improvement. “Although some speak of nationalization of the Electricity Distributing Companies, others stand up against the monopolies. In every Austrian village the people can freely choose their electricity suppliers, while this is not yet possible in Bulgaria and this situation must be changed,” the president firmly stated. He restated his clear position that checks should be conducted in the energy sector, checks “of all companies along the chain so that European rules can be enforced.”
“The response we should provide in the current situation, when we are in the limelight of the whole of Europe, is whether we can show through our actions a democratic culture and whether we are ready to change for the better,” the president said. Rosen Plevneliev reiterated that a constructive dialogue was necessary, as well as solutions that would lead us in the right direction. “If we manage to tackle the current situation in a worthy manner, Bulgaria will be the great winner”, President Rosen Plevneliev further added in Vienna.