Nikolay DENKOV, Bulgarian Prime Minister, gives an opening address in occasion of the "This is Europe" debate series. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

EU - Bulgaria (T)

This is Europe Debate (T)

DENKOV, Nikolaï (BG)

"This is Europe" debate: address by Nikolay DENKOV, Bulgarian Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Madam President of the European Parliament. Presidents of parliamentary political groups, representative of the Council, madam Commissioner and ladies and gentlemen, it's an honour and privilege for me to be here among you, representatives of United Europe, in this beautiful city.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Just days after the end of the Second World War, the French army entered Strasbourg and tomorrow we will be celebrating the anniversary of the day when the city was liberated from Nazi occupation. Strasbourg is a city with a tumultuous and rich history. It was part of the Roman Empire, of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a briefly, an independent city. And over the past two centuries, it was either a French or a German city.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Strasbourg is known as a city of roads, and in the past, these roads saw more soldiers and tanks than traders and peaceful citizens. In the past, to be the cross roads was a rather a curse, not a blessing. In the past, these roads separated the people. Today they unite people. In the past, the sky over Strasbourg was wounded too, by fighter jets, by bombs. And now we see commercial aeroplanes. Also kites and children's balloon.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Today, Strasbourg symbolises peace. In the past Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, hitler and Stalin tried to unite Europe through conquest, through wars, through the force of weapons. And the more cruel these wars were, the shorter the time of their success stories was. Today, Europe is united in peace. Being a union of equal partners and the values of democracy, rule of law, human rights are upheld as well as human dignity and the rights of each and every citizen. You work in Strasbourg, you on the Parliament, all for the United Europe. You are the guarantor of upholding European values.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, My country is one of the most ancient countries in Europe, since 681 we have been called Bulgaria. In its history, Bulgaria,was part of the Byzantine Empire and it was part of the Ottoman Empire almost five centuries. But our country was able to resurrect thanks to those who initiated it and carried out the Bulgarian national revival in the 19th century.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, One of them is our national hero, Vasil Levski. He is the person who inspired the European spirit of Bulgaria. He said that Bulgaria should be a democratic republic where all ethnic groups, Bulgarians, Turks, Jews, everyone would be equal in all meanings in all areas of life, and everyone would live according to the law upon which everyone has agreed.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 'Our well-being, he said, depends on our united concerted efforts. I think that it is hard to add something to this. In its modern history, Bulgaria was subject to attempts to be dominated. Some of them were successful: Russia and the Soviet Union and, unfortunately, these imperial ambitions of Russia continue up to today. Our country is a target of hybrid attacks.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Putin's Russia tries to use our economic ties, between Bulgaria and Russia, and also the traditional cultural links between the Bulgarian and the Russian peoples. That's why the fully fledged membership of Bulgarian, the European Union and NATO is the guarantee of the European way and development of our country. That's why we need to finalise our accession to the euro area and the Schengen area.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, I would like here to thank all MEP who supported Bulgaria in its ambition to join Schengen. This is a cause which means European justice, European fairness. Bulgaria has always been part and parcel not only of military achievements of Europe. I would like to remind you all that Bulgaria was the state that stopped the Arab invasion and we were part of the European Enlightenment. And part of this is the Cyrillic alphabet, which was created by two Bulgarians.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Our ambition is to give today's Bulgaria a meaningful contribution to the development and growth of the European Union. We understand that to new member countries, especially the poorest ones, the European Union is usually perceived to be a place from which funds come and where people can find better paid jobs. But we need to break this stereotype. That's why I would like to remind us all of the words of J. F. Kennedy: don't ask what the European Union could do for your country, ask what your country, what you could do for the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 'Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, the European Union is not an isolated island of well-being and peace. We have a devastating war on our doorstep where we see how Putin's Russia wants to crush the Ukrainian people's will to live independently in peace. The conflict in the Middle East caused by the brutal atrocities of Hamas against the peaceful Israeli citizens. And then we saw also the reaction of Israel, which also led to loss of human lives, including those of women and children. We need to take into account also the unstable situation in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. And also we mustn't forget about the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is in power. Also, Iran is threatening the international community with its nuclear program.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, There is a huge risk also stemming from the heightening tensions between China and Taiwan. We also can see that also in Africa, Gabon, Charter, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso. Coups that are committed by the military. It is worrying that some of these coup d'état were performed with the crucial aid of the private military company Wagner. And also we can see that civil war continues in the Libya and Ethiopia. So Somalia, we saw also numerous murderous terrorist attacks in many other African countries. This all signals that the world is very unstable.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, We cannot neglect all these geopolitical challenges. We need to face them, to address them. Europe needs to be strong and for this it needs to be united. The wrong two main political ideologies in Europe, conservatism and liberalism. And they should strive for mutual understanding and cooperation. The borders of our countries. So the history and traditions of our nations, Christianity and family are conservative values which are still needed in world today.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, The borders of Europe that have become so visible now because of the migrant crisis and the war of Ukraine emphasise even more these conservative ideas about the world is becoming more and more global, and the liberal ideas also are taking root in the national cooperation, politics, culture, the rights of women, minorities, people who are different from majorities are part of liberal democracy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, We need to turn our back on the extremes and we need to be united around the most important values conservative and liberal ones. We need to fight that polarisation as a political platform to come to power. Only then will we be able to regain the confidence of our citizens. A united and strong Europe should be more active on the international arena being a reliable guarantor of peace.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, At the same time, the European Union needs to foster its cooperation with strategic partners, including, first and foremost, the partners from need to indeed still consider the need for a single European army. Ladies and gentlemen, given the very complex international situation, the enlargement of the European Union becomes even more relevant and important.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Bulgaria has always been strongly in favour for the accession of Western Balkan countries to the European Union. At the same time, we believe that these states should become EU member States only when they meet all criteria. Their accession should be based on their merit, on their sincere will to become real members of the European family.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 'We welcome the decision of the European Commission to launch further negotiations for accession with Ukraine and Moldova. We hope that Georgia will join this group soon. The European Union does need fostering and strengthening of its institutions and also enlargement. But we believe that the accession of new countries should go hand-in-hand with the enhancement of EU institutions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, The reports on rule of law are a very good guarantee for control and also this is important for candidate countries. All the waves of enlargement of the European Union have shown that the larger the EU becomes, the more powerful and strong it is today in Europe. We can see inside them fatigue from the war in Ukraine and we can see the diminishing of aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, More and more Europeans are asking the question: why should we support a nation at war and a nation which is not an EU member state? Isn't it better to ensure peace? And many people say that even but unstable peace is better than the best war. And we remember what Winston Churchill said with regard to the Munich Accords of 1938. Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, We remember how all attempts finished or when there were attempts to appease Hitler. Actually, Putin's war against Ukraine is a war against Europe. When we defend, protect Ukraine, we defend and protect Europe. Otherwise, tomorrow, Moldova could become a new Ukraine. The other day, the Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and other European countries.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Esteemed MEPs. A consequence of wars and instability is also the rise in the migration due to Europe being such an attractive place, the vast majority of people seeking refuge go to Europe, but the European Union is not capable of welcoming an unlimited number of migrants without this threatening its institutions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Moreover, the integration of those already in Europe is quite a slow process. There are incidents committed by radicalised elements, many of them born within the European Union. We need a new strategy that will make a clear distinction between war, refugees and economic migrants. The European Union has to make all efforts to integrate refugees and to discourage and stop illegal and economic migration.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, We need to strike the proper balance between security and the opportunities that are given to them. Hopefully, all these challenges will be reflected in the new migration and asylum package. Bulgaria has met all the criteria for accession to the Schengen area. Any further delays of our accession are unacceptable and they cannot be understood by the Bulgarian general public.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Many countries reintroduce their border controls, but they cannot be arguments for the failure to accept Bulgaria into the Schengen area. With Bulgaria within Schengen European borders will be better protected and Europe will be stronger.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Ladies and gentlemen. Finally, I would like to remind you of a story of solidarity on the 5th of March 2022, just a few days after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The official website of the Slovak police published the following notice: an 11 year old boy crossed the border on foot with the passport hanging from his neck. The telephone number and the small nylon bag in his hand. He came alone because his mother had to remain in Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, My name is Hassan, said the boy and I. I'm alone. I had to come to Slovakia alone. His mother saw him off at the railway station and he went on with his story. We have a long experience with moving and crossing borders. We were ousted from our homes by the Russians in Syria, and the only thing Hassan could rely on was the telephone number of his elder brother.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, The mother said I could not accompany my son because I'm crippled. Yulia Vladimirovich, that was the name of the mother. That is a hero. The child walked over 1000 kilometres. Some of that distance was covered on trains, but the threat of bombing was his sole companion. But there were no tears in the eyes of this young hero. He even tried to smile.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, This is the human tragedy behind the dry statistics cited in the media. Ladies and gentlemen, I started my speech with the symbols of the past and the future. Allow me to mention a few more memorable events.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the first president of the Fifth French Republic, General Charles de Gaulle. On the 23rd of November 1959, President de Gaulle delivered his famous speech from the Atlantic, expressing his vision that Europe will be a single whole throughout this vast territory.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolay DENKOV, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, The Cold War was at its peak from stretching the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, Trieste, that sounded absurd. It might sound absurd today when Ukrainian men, women and children die. It could equally be absurd. But when Lukashenka, Putin and all the others will be bygone, when there are no young heroes with just a passport hanging from the neck and a telephone number written on their palm, we will have free, democratic and united Europe. Thank you.