site.btaBulgaria Marks Europe Day

Sofia, May 9 (BTA) - The EU flag was flown in front of the building of the presidential institution to mark Europe Day, May 9, in the presence of President Rumen Radev. As Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Army, he inspected the guard of honour and congratulated the guards on the occasion.

Also attending the ceremony were Parliament Chairperson Tsveta Karayancheva, Vice President Iliana Iotova, Deputy Prime Minister Krassimir Karakachanov, the Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, Ognian Zlatev, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, the Chief of Defence, General Andrei Botsev, and MPs.

Parliament began its week in plenary with marking Europe Day. Even before the meeting started, young GERB supporters and Floor Leader Tsvetan Tsvetanov handed out badges and flyers in honour of the day.

Opening the meeting, Karayancheva addressed the assembly and said this is a day on which Bulgaria reconfirms its resolve to uphold the principles on which united Europe is founded. She spoke of Bulgaria's Presidency of the Council of the EU as a cause for national pride. "Now Europe is Bulgaria, where subjects important to all European citizens are being discussed and the best possible solutions are being sought," she said.

All parliamentary groups except the United Patriots read declarations on the occasion of Europe Day.

GERB honoured "all who have worked to achieve the dream of generations of Bulgarians to see their country as an equal member of the family of European peoples." From its very inception to this day the European project has doubtless been the most peaceful project of mankind, Foreign Committee Chair Djema Grozdanova said. She said Bulgaria's accession to the EU in 2007 is historic, adding that in the 11 years that have passed since then it has received considerable support for the implementation of numerous projects as an expression of European solidarity in all walks of life.

The declaration of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) underscored the role of Victory Day. "Without May 9, Victory Day, Europe Day would not have been inaugurated in 1950 and Europe - or the world - would not have been what they are today," BSP for Bulgaria Deputy Floor Leader Dragomir Stoinev said. In his words, the two dimensions of this date actually embody the victory of creativity over destruction. "Today is an important day on which we honour the invincible will and military feat of those who put an end to the largest and most destructive war in the history of mankind and who saved millions of people," he pointed out. Stoinev also noted that on this day Bulgarians traditionally honour the Soviet army and the people who died in the anti-fascist resistance.

The collective security systems developed after World War II are currently put to a test and tension is escalating in spite of the many words about freedom, democracy and peace, Stoinev also said.

According to the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), united Europe means relinquished nationalism in which peoples are set against each other, divided by ethnic identity and religion, and this opposition is used to achieve goals that have nothing to do with the prosperity of people, nations and Europe. The declaration read by MRF Deputy Floor Leader Yordan Tsonev also said: "Europe is at a crossroads again because the unification is not a fact, peace is not a permanently achieved goal and prosperity is for some but not so much for others." MFR says the road towards the dream of European peoples should be followed but it should not be forgotten what sets European nations against each other and what led to these catastrophes, for today this danger is more tangible than ever.

In its declaration Volya said the main mission of contemporary politicians is to preserve peace. "This calls for a lot of courage, independence and will, but patriotism above all," Volya MP Slavi Netsov said. "In the name of the millions of victims and in the name of our own future we are obliged to stop every mendacious contemporary warmongering politician who sees aggression as the only way in relations between countries," he added.

Netsov went on to say that this day should not be an occasion for division and it is clear to everyone that without the victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, there would not have been a Europe Day.

Asked why the United Patriots parliamentary group was the only one that did not read a special declaration on the occasion of Europe Day, MP Iskren Vesselinov told reporters: "Why should we pretend to be more Catholic than the Pope and swear Euro-Atlantic loyalty with and without an occasion?"