NEWS

New Year’s Address of President Rosen Plevneliev

Dear Compatriots,

We are welcoming the new 2017 together with our closest friends and relatives, not only with hope, but also with concern. Our hope is for peace and a better future for our children. We are concerned about the extraordinary instability and the record number of crises in Europe and in the world. The world lost its balance and it will take time to establish a new sustainable world order in a different and multi-polar world. History has hastened its pace. History is written before our very eyes. Could anyone have imagined only three years ago that borders in Europe would be moved by force?  Could anyone have imagined only two years ago that a wave of refugees and migrants, seeking salvation and a better future, would sweep over Europe? Could anyone have imagined only a year ago that the United Kingdom would leave the EU? The crucial question today is who is writing history – progressive mankind, the symbol of entrepreneurship, innovations and humanism or retrograde forces and populists, equipped with ideologies and techniques belonging to the past.

On 1 January 2017 we will mark ten years since Bulgaria joined the EU – an indisputable historical achievement on the path to attaining the national ideal, defined by the Apostle of freedom as “to be equal with the other European peoples.” Today Bulgaria is considerably different compared to the year in which we set off on our European path. Since then our GDP has tripled. The money for education, pensions and social policies has also tripled. The investments in infrastructure and energy efficiency, in ecology and agriculture, in innovations and entrepreneurship have multiplied manifold. Thanks to European solidarity, Bulgaria is modernizing and changing for the better. Never before have Bulgarians been so free and integrated with democratic Europe. We should continue writing the history of a strong Bulgaria in a strong EU. We should launch new projects on integration, we should look ahead not backwards.  Craving for a past grandeur or the willingness to have the strong hand of a leader that will bring us prosperity, is not a solution. The solution lies in having strong institutions that will guarantee justice and rules for all. The solution lies in everyone’s conscious efforts to improve and build on the achievements, not destroy. Without efforts and dedicated labor, without love and respect for our close friends and relatives, without the rule of law, the national ideal for a “pure and sacred republic” cannot be attained.

Currently Bulgaria is a reliable ally in NATO, a trustworthy partner in the EU, a good neighbor and friend with all peoples. Our vision is to have Bulgaria and the Balkans be historically transformed from a field of interest of the Great Powers into an integral part of united Europe. In 2016 Bulgaria received due international recognition for the balanced and principled foreign policy it pursues. We welcomed the presidents of ten EU member states and together we sought solutions for the future of the Balkans and Europe. We had an extremely successful chairmanship-in-office of SEECP and we set connectivity, security and finding a common solution of the migration crisis as major priorities of the Balkans. Bulgaria successfully completed its presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Never before has Bulgaria had such a successful trade with the Balkans and the EU, never before has the number of tourists been so big. Never before have so many state and government leaders visited our country only within a year. Never before have we been so connected, integrated, sharing common prospects and a common horizon for a democratic development. We are aware that the crises, no matter whether a migratory crisis, terrorism, a financial crisis, or any other, pass beyond our borders and only together can we counteract them. Only together can we guarantee our security and energy independence, only together are we a market big enough for strategic investors and factories for the future. Only together can we be a factor on the global scene.

Therefore anyone who tries to isolate Bulgaria in narrow national borders and works for a weak and divided EU or positions Bulgaria as an unstable, passive and problematic member in the periphery of the EU, is not working to ensure that the national ideal is attained. We should follow the path chosen by the leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival towards Europe, in a worthy manner, holding our heads high.      

Dear compatriots,

Happiness and democracy are not our final destination. They are a manner of travelling. Human rights and freedoms cannot be installed, they should be respected. The rule of law should be defended on a daily basis and by everyone. Our attention is attracted by strong leaders and populists. However, strength is not durable, while wisdom and kind-heartedness are intransient. We should pave the way for politicians with morality and dignity, those who defend principled positions and universal values. As for incomes and infrastructure, we should not only feel like Europeans, but also act like Europeans by supporting the European values for peace, human rights and freedoms and the rule of law. We should add value by helping our common European family, which is currently in trouble. The crises are a fact, but a fact is also that our incomes and prosperity depend on what we produce, on how educated and efficient we are, they depend on Bulgaria’s and the Bulgarians’ throughout the world good name and reputation. In the light of the forthcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the EU, we should show Europe and the world the best Bulgaria can offer.

Dear compatriots,

The Christmas and New Year’s holidays are a time for renewal, a time when each one of us goes back to their child’s dreams, setting their hopes on the strength of kindness. May the warmth of the coziness at home and the love of our close friends and relatives fill us with faith to go ahead with open hearts and a feeling of a worldly mission. Let us restore and strengthen our love in our hearts and preserve our desire for justice.  

Let us spare no efforts to ensure peace among the people in the conflict-and-injustice-ridden world of today. Let us forget the language of hatred and encourage understanding, which will become a strong bridge between our children, so that they can live in harmony.

As good and responsible people, we would like compassion, sympathy, the belief in goodness to multiply in our society. What happened after the tragedy in Hitrino, when a lot of our compatriots accepted the others’ suffering as their own, makes us convinced that we are on the right road and that we are surrounded by lots of examples worth following and worth being inspired by.   

We, Bulgarians, are a people with an ancient and glorious history. We have not only faced the fights together, but have also spent the holidays together throughout the centuries. We are together also today on New Year’s eve, we are looking ahead full of conviction towards a better future which we will alone determine.

May the New Year bring to all Bulgarians, no matter where they are in the world, health, peace, hope and prosperity.

Happy New Year!