At a working meeting with the ambassadors of the EU member states and Switzerland, the President expressed Bulgaria's expectation and preparedness to join the Schengen area
Bulgaria actively works for and supports the European perspective of its neighbours in the Western Balkans as the surest measure to guarantee the security, stability and economic progress of the region. Consequently, this country is expecting specific results in the economy and connectivity, as well as on the open bilateral issues in the dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM). Some of the unresolved political issues that stand out as particularly sensitive are the respect for the rights of the Macedonian Bulgarians, the intensification of hate speech, and attacks on the Bulgarian cultural and historical heritage. Ignoring these issues will also slow down progress in the European integration process. This is what President Rumen Radev said today at a working meeting with the ambassadors of the EU member states and Switzerland. Vice President Iliana Iotova also attended the meeting, where a number of topics on the European agenda were discussed.
The intensification of the bilateral dialogue with our south-western neighbour by building on what has been achieved so far is a positive sign. However, Bulgaria is not waiting for new assurances, but for constitutional guarantees for the respect of the rights of the Macedonian Bulgarians, by adding them in the preamble of the RNM constitution, together with the other listed parts of peoples, Rumen Radev specified. In the Head of State's words, this should happen before the start of RNM's EU accession talks.
Respect for human rights and the fulfilment of the Copenhagen membership criteria cannot be treated only as a bilateral issue between Bulgaria and the RNM. They affect fundamental European values, they cannot be the subject of negotiations and are a clear indicator of the European maturity of the RNM. It is hard to accept the thesis that there is no two-thirds majority in the parliament of an EU applicant, which would express the firm political will to achieve full membership, Radev added. It would also be inexplicable to bring the ideology of former totalitarian regimes into a united Europe.
As a responsible member, Bulgaria does not want to import open problems into the EU and expects understanding, solidarity and support from its European allies on the European integration of the RNM, the President concluded.
The Head of State praised the priorities of the new French EU presidency, among which are topics such as Europe's strategic autonomy in security and defence, the drafting of crisis response and action plans, ensuring the security of Europe's external borders and adapting the Schengen area to the new realities. The President recalled that since 2011 this country had fulfilled all the requirements for membership in the Schengen area, and in 2017 he had submitted his own proposal to the EU to prepare an EU operational action plan in case of a sharp increase in migration flows to the land borders of the Union.
The debate on Europe's future cannot be conducted without Europe itself, nor should it be allowed to compromise on EU's security, Rumen Radev said. According to the President, the EU member states are not only a 'family' built on shared democratic principles and values, but also allies which guarantee their security together.
NATO is the main pillar of European security, but the question about the deficit of defence capabilities at the EU level remains open, and this is clearly visible when crises occur. This is why the Head of State reiterated his call for closer integration in the field of European defence industry and science, which would optimise defence spending and increase the EU countries' contribution to collective security. Rumen Radev put highly the partnership in the defence sector with the EU countries, including the staging of joint exercises and the protection of Bulgaria's airspace in view of the escalation of tensions in Ukraine.
The President also pointed out that Europe remains a global leader in building a green economy, but the EU should not lose sight of the social and economic aspects of this transition. The transformation process should take into account the high cost of replacing base-load power generation capacity, as well as the risk of increasing Europe's dependence on external factors for the supply of energy resources. In the Head of State's words, the current energy crisis and high electricity prices in Europe are a clear indicator of the risk of the EU losing competitiveness in the long term, compared to other economic centres in the world. In this regard, Rumen Radev also expressed this country's hope for the full recognition of nuclear energy as 'green' by the EU, as well as for the allocation of sufficient funds for the research and manufacturing of energy-saving technologies and solutions within the Union.