The talks President Rosen Plevneliev held in the German city of Hamburg focused on the problems related to the unprecedented migration pressure. During his meetings with representatives of the government and parliament of the federal province, the Head of State recalled that Bulgarian was the first country to face the migration wave in 2013. Our country is one of the few countries that observes the rules and registers all refugees entering our territory.
The President said that Bulgaria will continue to work to find a common European solution to the problem and, in his words, the only way Europe can cope with the crisis is by following the common rules valid for all, assuming a shared responsibility and pursuing a pro-European policy.
As for the reaction of individual member states to the issue of accepting migrants, the President commented that “the EU is a family and every country should contribute to its well-being. Whenever a problem arises, the family pulls itself together to pass through the turbulent times.” In the Head of State’s opinion, in the concrete case the interests of individual countries should not prevail, but the problems should be shared and solved and each country should contribute to that effect. “The worst approach the EU could adopt today is the nationalist one, and the best is to act as a united family,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
The federal province of Hamburg is facing a great challenge related to the migration wave and currently we should pool efforts to integrate the refugees by providing education and employment, the representatives of the government and parliament said. In their view, the European countries should be prepared for the long-term adverse development of the refugee crisis and concerns should give way to urgent solutions and common actions.
Earlier on Thursday President Plevneliev held talks with representatives of the Bulgarian school in Hamburg and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church community and assumed the commitment, during his working visit, to draw the issue of the needs the school has to the attention of the local authorities. About 7,000 Bulgarians live in Hamburg. In 2001 seven children studied in the school, while currently about 100 pupils study there, which makes it necessary to support its development. About 10 percent of the Bulgarian community children study in the school. Two classes of 14 children each, in which first-grade children study, were formed in 2015.
The representatives of the Bulgarian school called on for having the Bulgarian language recognized as a foreign language in the curricula of the German schools. This has already been achieved by a couple of member states which have signed state-level agreements with the Federal Republic of Germany. The Education Ministry should also adapt the textbooks so that they could meet the needs of the Bulgarian schools abroad. At the meeting the Bulgarian teachers requested the introduction of distance learning, which should be compatible with our education system and support the efforts of the more than 230, 000 members of the Bulgarian community in Germany to be educated in Bulgarian.
The representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church community “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” in Hamburg voiced hope that a location could be found which houses together our orthodox church and the school in Hamburg. Currently the school has rooms in three separate buildings.
President Rosen Plevneliev signed the book of condolences in the city-hall of Hamburg on the occasion of the death of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. In the President’s view, the German statesman will go down in history as a visionary and supporter of united Europe.
Later on Thursday the Head of State will deliver a keynote speech at the Europe Evening, organized by the AGA Business Association, which has more than 3,500 German member-companies.
On 13 November President Rosen Plevneliev will attend the First Berlin Global Forum, the aim of which is to promote the dialogue between the European institutions and the representatives of the business circles, on the one hand, and the emerging economies in the world, on the other. In Berlin the Head of State will also hold talks with Marcus Felsner, President of the Eastern Europe Business Association of Germany.