site.btaPresident Plevneliev: 2017 Will Be Critical for Europe after Shock from Brexit and Trump's Election

President Plevneliev: 2017 Will Be Critical for Europe after Shock from Brexit and Trump's Election

Sofia, January 17 (BTA) - After the shock from Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, 2017 will be a critical year for the EU, Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said here Tuesday. He was speaking at the 11th Annual Government Meets the Business Conference in Sofia to an audience including representatives of the government, businesses, the European Commission, the IMF, the European Investment Fund and ambassadors.

"Trump could made the American economy richer and stronger but he is no moral touchstone for people. What do we choose: money or values? Trump is a symbol of the global surge of nationalism. He does not believe in European integration and, unfortunately, I believe he does not understand it. The Russian President does not share the European values and integration either, and has long been trying to destabilize the EU. Serious damage has already been done and worse is yet to come," said Plevneliev.

He also said that the US is a guarantor of security for the EU and this has ensured the EU's prosperity and made it an economic giant. "A withdrawal of the unconditional American commitment and guarantees, in combination with the surge of the European populists and nationalists will further destabilize the [European] Union."

Plevneliev believes that a time for change has come in the EU.

He argues that the big threat for Bulgaria is "to miss the moment of a new wave of integration which is sure to come".

"The big threat for Bulgaria is to see the rise of politicians who carry slogans in the name of Bulgarian producers, against the bad power distribution companies and bad foreign supermarket chains, the expected rise of populists and nationalists, a possible self-isolation and self-marginalization," the President said.

He warned that "anybody who puts to question Bulgaria's European choice and reduces the pace or scale of Bulgaria's integration with the EU and the democratic world, anybody who remains inactive when Europe is changing, will betray the national interest". "We should be on a par with the other European nations," Plevneliev said.

In his opening remarks, he spoke about Bulgaria's European choice and the progress it has achieved.

He said that Bulgaria has been an island of stability, and insurmountable factor in the region and an advocate of a foreign policy based on principles.

The head of State went on to say that in more than two-thirds of the countries in the world the agenda is different: poverty, conflicts, strife, draught and disasters. "In this line of reasoning we, Bulgarian people, should be aware of how much we have achieved and how far we have gone, if we are to be able to build up on this and move forward."

Plevneliev said that he is a "staunch European" and that the EU is not foreign policy but family to him. "I pursued a consistent pro-European policy. I did my best for a united and strong Europe, capable of overcoming crises and emerging stronger from them."

Plevneliev argued that the modernization of Bulgaria should be a cause for all governments and be put to question by nobody.

He thanked Prime Minister Boyko Borissov for accepting Bulgaria's modernization as a personal cause - and all governments which have made a contribution.

He spoke of 350 km of new motorways, 2,000 km of new roads, 30 km of new metro lines in Sofia, 26 new metro stations, 51 new waste water treatment plans, 2,500 km of new water mains, 18 regional systems for waste management and a new waste recycling plant in Sofia which is the most modern in the Balkans.

He said at the end of his term the national economy is growing (around 3.6 per cent expected for 2016), the unemployment is at a nine-year low (7.1 per cent) and the national budget shows a surplus of 1.6 per cent of GDP for 2016.

Plevneliev also said that despite all progress the judicial reform has not been completed. It is more than clear now that Bulgaria, as well as the wider region, is seeing a clash between an oligarchic model of economy and true entrepreneurship. "We don't want to live in a country where backstage figures bring banks to collapse and regional forces wage hybrid warfare. We want a strong Bulgaria to be a regional political and economic leader, and a worthy member of the EU and NATO," the President said.