site.btaEU Heads Attend Opening of Exhibition of Bulgarian Gold Treasures

EU Heads Attend Opening of Exhibition of Bulgarian  Gold Treasures

Brussels, October 15 (BTA corr. Nickolay Jeliazkov) - The Presidents of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, Donald Tusk, Martin Schulz and Jean-Claude Juncker, attended Wednesday evening the opening of a Bulgarian gold treasures exhibition in the European Parliament. The event was also attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, EC Vice President in charge of Budget & Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva, and many MEPs.

The exhibition entitled, "Varna - The Oldest Gold Treasure," is organized on the initiative of Bulgarian MEP Emil Radev and showcases priceless Bulgarian treasures from the Copper Age discovered near the Black Sea city of Varna in 1972.

In his opening address Schulz said this was "a unique event" as he could not remember, "once, the three presidents of the EU institutions and a Prime Minister of a member state to open an exhibition in the EP". He said that the opening of the exhibition is "a moment of pride" for the EP as the event presents one of the most important pieces of cultural heritage of the world.

Schulz said Europe is entering a new dimension of Europen policy. "I must admit I could never imagine 21 years ago when I was elected first to the EP that I would ever have to discuss in the EP about such a lot of hate, of prejudices and unjustified judgements about each other," Schulz said. "We have to continue to learn about each other. The Western Europeans should learn more about the Eastern Europeans and the other way round," he said.

"I do not believe that a lot of people in this House know that Bulgaria and also Romania belong to those countries with the oldest and most important cultural heritage of our continent. Therefore this exhibition is a contribution to the fight against a lack of knowledge and prejudices, " the EP President said, noting the timeliness of the exhibition which showed "the great heritage of this great Member State of the EU which is Bulgaria".

Juncker said that when it comes to Varna, he was not objective. "I visited Varna years ago and I fell immediately in love with this marvellous city. I did not know about the gold treasures. But now I have discovered them," Juncker said.

"This exhibition shows that Bulgaria is not only a great nation but an old nation," he said. Juncker promised that he will come to Varna "in the course of this year". The EC President also said that Prime Minister Boyko Borissov "is the golden boy of Bulgaria".

EC Vice President in charge of Budget & Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva said that the exhibition shows not only how rich Bulgaria's history is but it also how the Bulgarians treasure, value and present that history. "As the person responsible for the European money, I am very proud that our government works very well with the European money," Georgieva also said.

Borissov noted that MEPs from all political groups were there to appreciate this Bulgarian treasure. "This presence is a recognition for all the Bulgarian people and for all the people who worked for the country's accession to the EU, for our presence here in the EP," Borissov said.

He said that he came from Istanbul and brought messages from the Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu. "No matter how great the distance between the Bosphorus, Sofia, and Brussels may seem, we all face the same problems with the refugees and the migrants. All democratically minded and free people and everyone who thinks those suffering people should survive and be well, will try to help those hundreds of thousands and even millions of refugees and migrants that live in disastrous conditions," the Bulgarian PM said.

Dwelling on the absorption of EU funds in Bulgaria, Borissov said it enables the most important thing in Europe - "connecting Europe".