site.btaPrime Minister Comments on Issues Figuring on EU Agenda

December 13 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) -
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who is in Brussels for
a European Council meeting on December 12 and 13, commented on a
 wide range of issues on the EU agenda during a news briefing in
 the Belgian capital Friday.

Discussing the new extension of the sanctions against Russia,
approved on Thursday, Borissov said: "Quite good things were
said about Russia yesterday, unlike before. Several steps are
being made in the right direction. I have never heard such
optimistic things before. But nothing is finished yet, so the
sanctions remain."

He quoted politicians as saying that the United States has
invested 35 billion dollars in the Russian economy over the
period of the sanctions. "Whether it is true or not, I don't
know. I am just saying what other colleagues have reported,"
Borissov said.

The results of the early general elections in the UK are good
news, according to him. The outcome of the ballot means that the
 UK Parliament will be unable to continue to block the Brexit
agreement, Borissov commented. He noted that Bulgaria will not
lose any money as the UK stops contributing to the EU budget.

The new EU rules for international road transport can be
challenged jointly by multiple claimants at the Court of Justice
 of the European Union, the Bulgarian Prime Minister went on to
say. He added that several member states have supported Bulgaria
 in resisting the adopted changes. He argued: "On the one hand,
the EU is trying to reduce environmental pollution, but on the
other hand, it is adopting rules which will entail an increase
in harmful emissions, because international haulage trucks will
have to return often to the country of registration. The
discussion on the topic has not ended and we cannot allow it to
end this way. We will file a lawsuit." Borissov noted that West
European countries, which are particularly enthusiastic about
the new rules, have relocated their polluting businesses to
Asia.

Concerning the European Commission's strategic vision for
achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2050, Borissov said the
intention will be carried out, because the EU is very
determined. "We need to think about the future of coal," he
noted. "We have 30 years to go, and we have to say what will
happen after that."

According to Borissov, everyone in the EU believes that the
migration agreement with Turkey should be continued and no one
is talking about an embargo on arms sales to Ankara. "I told my
colleagues in Greece and Cyprus that they should find
instruments to sort things out by themselves, because, although
we support them in every way, Turkey is playing a crucial role
in the region right now," he said. RY/VE