site.btaPresident Radev Lays Flowers at Monument to the Unknown Soldier Commemorating 79th Anniversary of Victory over Nazism in World War II

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev laid flowers at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier on the occasion of the commemoration of the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazism in World War II. 

"Today, on Europe Day, let us also wish for a European Union (EU) that engages even more actively and contributes even more effectively to the development of its Member States, that continues to build its unity on the principles of democracy and peace," he told journalists at the ceremony. 

"I also expect the EU to engage more actively in promoting the principles of democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law in the Western Balkan countries, which have declared their ambitions to join the EU," Radev added.

Europe Day has been celebrated since 1986, in accordance with a decision of the European Council Summit in Milan, Italy (28-29 June 1985). It marks the anniversary of the speech (1950) by former French foreign minister Robert Schuman in Paris, France, in which he set out his plan for the unification of the coal and steel industries of Western European countries (the so-called "Schuman Declaration") as "first concrete foundation of a European federation".