site.btaVP Iotova: GPS Jamming Incident Overshadowed EC President’s Visit to Bulgaria

The GPS jamming incident with Ursula Von Der Leyen’s plane overshadowed her visit to Bulgaria, Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists in Veliko Tarnovo. She noted that no news was received on the commitments the European Commission (EC) has undertaken toward Bulgaria because of this incident.  

The information about this “drowned out” everything else, and we appeared in every European and global media, Iotova commented. “I believe that a serious blow was dealt to Bulgaria’s image,” she said. The Vice President added that an investigation will be necessary to clear Bulgaria’s image if the government already informed the EC that Russian interference caused the incident. “Otherwise, this points to a breach in the national security of an EU member state," Iotova emphasized. 

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said Tuesday that there is no reason to investigate the incident involving the EC President's aircraft , as the jamming of a GPS signal is not considered a hybrid or cyber threat.

The Vice President also expressed concern about the disparity between incomes and price increases, the water crisis, and inabilities to respond to wildfires quickly and said that those problems must be solved in the coming months. 

She was on a visit at the Veliko Tarnovo University for the opening the Second Organizational and Methodological Seminar with lecturers in Bulgarian language, literature, and culture from universities abroad.