Valery Giscard d'Estaing's persistent fight for Europe shaped the vision of European unity of several generations. The Convention on the Future of Europe, of which he was President, the idea of a European Monetary Union, and a new EU institutional structure highlighted his remarkable political legacy. This is what Head of State Rumen Radev said at a meeting with the family of Valery Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic from 1974 to 1981. The Bulgarian President is in Strasbourg at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron and European Parliament President David Sassoli, where he took part in a ceremony in memory of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
"A year after the death of Valery Giscard d'Estaing, looking at his legacy, we are discovering a 'European universe'. His bright ideas and unshakable faith in our common future paved the way for the creation of the new architecture of the European Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall," Rumen Radev stressed.
The Bulgarian President also recalled Valery Giscard d'Estaing's appeal, distinguishing the French statesman as one of the greatest dreamers of Europe in history: "Let us never forget that the construction of Europe is the most peaceful and promising project ever undertaken on our continent."
The ceremony was attended by the Heads of State of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, as well as the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli.