Commenting on the farmers’ protests across Europe, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said Thursday that he sees a coordinated misinformation campaign that fuels the demonstrations. Denkov stressed that agriculture is among the most important industries for the European economy, which accounts for a third of the EU budget.
The European Commission and the European Parliament made commitments to seek longer-term solutions in the coming weeks, he added, noting that the issue was discussed at Thursday's extraordinary European Council meeting.
Denkov said that he and his German, Dutch, Slovenian, and Finnish counterparts discussed support for abolishing the checks Schengen’s outer borders and Bulgaria's accession to the euro area. "We managed to talk to the prime ministers of Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Finland - countries some of which are known to be the most cautious, always careful about budgets. I told them what the fiscal picture of Bulgaria looks like - the low external debt and the low deficit. We expect inflation to meet the Maastricht criteria by the end of the year. I can safely say that we will have these countries’ support when the discussion time comes. We are working for [Bulgaria's eurozone accession on] 1 January 2025," Denkov told Bulgarian reporters.
The Bulgarian PM clarified that, earlier on Thursday, the EU heads of state and government had not discussed in depth the decision to provide EUR 50 billion in aid to Ukraine. "The general opinion is that being alone against 26 countries is a problem and this played a role," Denkov added on Hungary's overcomе resistance. "Today, there was no disagreement on the important issues," he summed up.
Denkov also commented on a statement by GERB Chairperson and Floor Leader Boyko Borissov, who believes it is a waste of state resources for a 30 to 40 person delegation, led by Denkov, to go on a business trip to the US. The Prime Minister pointed out that it is quite normal to prepare a trip to the USA, which is Bulgaria's main partner. "I am very surprised that anyone questions whether the prime minister or the deputy prime minister are planning a trip to the US," Denkov said. "We do not have fixed dates yet, but yes, such a trip is planned and there is nothing abnormal about it. I see a very serious attempt to limit the possibility of direct contacts between me and the people I work with in the US, it cannot happen. I think someone is trying to take positions that are not his to take", Denkov stressed.
