President Rumen Radev held a videoconference call with the President of the European Council Charles Michel today. Topics on the EU Agenda, as well as the upcoming special meeting of the European Council on the 24th and 25th of May, where our country will be represented by the Bulgarian Head of State, were discussed during the conversation. Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of Lithuania Gitanas Naus?da and Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela also participated in the videoconference call.
Facilitating free movement of people within the EU, despite the epidemic situation with the so-called Digital Green Certificate, was discussed during the call. President Radev called for the creation of “green corridors” for tourists from European countries, which would significantly aid tourism, one of the economic sectors most affected by the crisis. The Head of State expressed our countries’ readiness to donate vaccines to the neighbours in the Western Balkans and outlined the necessity of common rules, principles and procedures for such donations to be made.
Mr. Rumen Radev also noted that climate policies must be sustainable over time and must strengthen the energy independence of the separate Member States and the EU as a whole. The President emphasised Bulgaria’s efforts for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy to take into consideration the social aspects and not lead to a loss in the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy. “Thinking of the competitiveness of the EU, we must not forget that it consists in the competitiveness of each EU Member State,” the Head of State further added.
During the videoconference call, Mr. Rumen Radev also called for guaranteeing equal rights for all EU citizens and pointed out that the citizens of Bulgaria, as well as other Member States, pay higher visa fees for the United Kingdom.