site.btaProf. Christo Pimpirev: It Is Very Important for the EU Member States to Have a Common Policy for the Polar Regions

It is very important to have a common policy of the EU member states regarding the Polar Regions, because they are the future of humanity and our planet, said in an interview with BTA Prof. Christo Pimpirev from the Bulgarian research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421).

Pimpirev, who turns 71 on Tuesday, is a doyen of the Bulgarian Antarctic programme, a participant in the first national Antarctic Expedition in the 1987/88 season. He is the leader of the annual national scientific expeditions to Antarctica and the founding chairman of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute since 1993, director of the National Centre for Polar Research since 2007.

A common policy also brings extraordinary benefits for the future development of these regions, which have yet to pay off for those countries working there, the scientist pointed out in response to a question on why there should be a common European policy on Antarctica, approved by the European Parliament. He said the Polar Regions are extremely rich in natural resources. "Antarctica is a huge natural laboratory, clean from human pollution," he said.

Antarctica is a strategic continent, it is a tenth of the Earth's surface and is governed by 29 countries that are permanent consultative members of the Antarctic Treaty, among them 20 European countries. "To our great joy and pride Bulgaria is among them", Prof. Pimpirev said.

The European Union has a special institution - the European Polar Board, of which Bulgaria has been a permanent member since its foundation 25 years ago. "I can boldly say that Bulgaria participates in the management and protection of European interests - of the European Union above all, on Antarctica and in the Polar Regions," the Professor said.

Asked what a future EU Antarctic policy document should contain, he pointed out that there could be even closer cooperation between EU countries in studying the Polar Regions, specifically Antarctica.

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During the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica, which started on November 8, 2023, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is publishing interviews with Antarctic researchers. The Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log again provides coverage of the voyage of the Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii to Antarctica and back and its stay there, as it did during the 31st expedition between December 27, 2022 and May 2, 2023. Back then, only BTA had a correspondent, Daily News Editor Konstantin Karagyozov, who covered the 127-day expedition with text, video and photos during the entire voyage (including across the Atlantic in both directions) and throughout the stay in Antarctica. In June 2023, BTA published in Bulgarian and in English an issue of its LIK magazine "To Antarctica and Back under the Bulgarian Flag" dedicated to the historic expedition.

Again, all of BTA's information on the Bulgarian scientific research in Antarctica and the support provided by the Bulgarian naval research vessel, as well as on the other activities at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, will be available to all media outlets in Bulgarian and in English on BTA's website in the Bulgaria - Antarctica: BTA's Log section.

BTA has a National Press Club on board the ship and is planning to open a National Press Club at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island.