NEWS

The Head of State: Under Conditions of Crisis, Europe Should be Preserved as a United Democratic Space

Under conditions of crisis, the European countries should overcome their differences and preserve Europe as a united democratic space, based on the rule of law and human rights protection. This was the position shared by President Rosen Plevneliev and Anne Brasseur, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, who held talks at 2 Dondukov street today. The two were unanimous that global challenges such as terrorism and migration require a global response and can be overcome only if the international community pools efforts to that effect.

The Head of State highlighted that our country will continue to work to ensure the preservation of democratic values and human rights in Europe, within the Bulgarian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which started on 10 November 2015. At the end of January President Rosen Plevneliev will deliver an address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

“Bulgaria has been member of the Council of Europe for more than 20 years and this fact contributed to strengthening democracy in our country,” the President further said. In the Head of State’s words, it is inappropriate for Bulgaria to continue to be in a post-monitoring dialogue procedure and assured that the completion of the reform of the judiciary remains in the focus of the attention of the Bulgarian civil society and of the state institutions.

Both Rosen Plevneliev and Anne Brasseur called on for taking joint actions against the root causes of terrorism, not only against its consequences. In their view, social exclusion, inequality and the lack of access to fundamental human rights lie at the basis of hatred and division. The Head of State assured that Bulgaria will continue to fulfill its international commitments on refugees and asylum-seekers and emphasized that only if all member states take joint actions and assume a shared responsibility can the problem be solved within the EU.