site.btaUPDATED GERB-UDF: Bulgaria's Membership in NATO Is a Legacy of Freedom Won with Hard Work and Hard Reforms

The 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's membership in NATO is a legacy of freedom won with hard work and hard reforms. It is a testament to the enduring power of collective security and a rules-based security architecture, stated Daniel Mitov from GERB-UDF in a declaration on behalf of his parliamentary group on the occasion of Bulgaria becoming a member of NATO two decades ago.

"Faced with the uncertainties of the future, Bulgaria and our allies are united in our determination to build a world in which borders cannot be changed by force, and sovereign nations can freely choose their future," Mitov added.

In his declaration, he also quoted words from US President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty".

"To a large extent, Bulgaria and the countries of Eastern Europe at that time gave the reason for NATO's existence, a new energy for the Alliance to reform its goals and refocus its efforts," Daniel Mitov pointed out. He argued that from a formal point of view the processes in the 1990s may have looked like an expansion of NATO, but in fact they were an escape for Eastern Europeans from the Russian sphere of influence in the direction of free and democratic societies. 

The events of recent years, especially since Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, support the Eastern European persistence in pursuing NATO membership, Mitov stressed, adding: "We must also give due credit to those Western leaders who saw the future expansion of NATO as an opportunity to erase the old dividing lines". "The Kremlin's aggression strengthened the grounds not only for the existence of NATO, but also led to a new, fresh wave of its expansion with Sweden and Finland," he said.

Bulgaria's strategic position in the Black Sea region is invaluable, which makes this country a vitally important part of the regional security mechanism, noted Mitov. "Cooperation with Greece and Romania must develop an infrastructure that guarantees and strengthens our common security. Our commitment to the political dimension of NATO is more important than ever. We live in times when we must clearly distinguish between what is right and what is wrong," he argued.