site.btaBulgaria Mentioned in Highly Positive Context in von der Leyen’s Speech, President Iotova Says

Commenting on Wednesday’s speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President Iliana Iotova said in an interview for bTV on Thursday that she is proud of what she heard. "What I heard and, as a Bulgarian, cannot help but feel proud of, is that our country was mentioned in an exceptionally positive context. This is a major geoeconomic breakthrough for Bulgaria."

According to the President, the initiative concerns a connectivity project linking Central Asia and the Caspian region with routes to the rest of Europe. The ambition is to mobilize around EUR 12 billion. "The very fact that the European Commission President mentioned the Bulgarian Prime Minister and the meeting that is to take place next year means, for us, that Bulgaria is finally making its voice heard more strongly in the EU, something we have been hoping for throughout the 20 years since we became a member," Iotova said.

The President said she had liked Ursula von der Leyen’s speech, although she had expected to hear more about the EU’s financial framework. "I believe all of this is still at a very early stage," Iotova said, referring to the proposal for a new security council on European soil that would include countries outside the EU.

"In a few days, I will deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly, and I will say what peace means to me," the President also said. Iotova added that security in the Black Sea is another issue to which she is personally committed.

Iotova also said that she had spoken with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe about the case of Iva Mihaylova, who has been prevented from receiving medical treatment in Bulgaria. She said she believed that the entire state apparatus had been mobilized to address the case.

"There are many threats to our alphabet, coming from different directions, including the fact that Cyrillic is barely used on social media," Iotova said, referring to her stated commitment to defending the Cyrillic alphabet internationally.

The President also addressed the issue of pardons. "The decision was based solely and exclusively on a medical assessment," she said. "If someone had told me that this person would first of all survive, because according to the medical assessment he should not have been able to move at all, I probably would not have made the decision," she said. She assured viewers that all the necessary documents had been requested and that no law had been violated.

"It is not serious for such a serious case to be entangled in an election campaign," the President said in response to a question about the press conference concerning the Petrohan-Okolchitsa murders case.