site.btaTISP MEP Valchev: Europe Limiting Itself by Creating Countless Regulations

Europe is limiting itself by creating countless regulations, There Is Such a People / European Conservatives and Reformists MEP Ivaylo Valchev said in an interview with the Bulgarian News Agency in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday. 

“The difference between the Bulgarian National Assembly and the European Parliament is that our work in Bulgaria had a much more direct resonance, while what happens in this chamber does not become part of reality as quickly,” Valchev said after the first constituent session of the European legislature.

“We said during the election campaign that two things will be extremely important for us: first - the direction in which the European Union will go, Europe will go; second - the things that will have a direct impact on what happens in Bulgaria. For us, as Bulgarians, things such as a review of the Green Deal, which many people in Bulgaria have tried to tell us cannot happen, are important. But here we see that there is movement in that direction, that we are not the only ones talking about this thing. Control over migration - also a topic that was neglected in Bulgaria, here we see that it is set at a high level,” he added.

“One of my personal causes and goals is to have a much better communication between the members of the Bulgarian delegation. I cannot answer this question yet for the purely technical reason that we have not yet seen each other together. Today, according to what the free time will be and according to the votes, we have a meeting scheduled for the Bulgarian group. At that meeting, I will raise these questions. It will be important for me, even if we have party differences, to be able to talk together about the things that are important first of all for our country. Let us try to clear them up among ourselves. Not to be so loyal to the politics of the groups that we are members of, but to come first from what the national interest dictates,”  Valchev said.

The full transcript of the interview follows: 

Mr Valchev, you have been a member of the National Assembly in Bulgaria several times, now you are a member of the European Parliament. How does it feel, what is the difference?

The difference is that here the work is different. Otherwise, there is no difference in what happens. The difference between the Bulgarian National Assembly and the European Parliament is that our work in Bulgaria had a much more direct resonance, while what happens in this chamber does not become part of reality as quickly. But the interesting thing is that here, at least after the first month, at least after the work that we are doing so far within the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, I notice that the dialogicality is much greater and that the coefficient of efficiency is a little bit higher, not to say a lot.

What is your main priority here?

We said during the election campaign that two things will be extremely important for us: first - the direction in which the European Union will go, Europe will go; second - the things that will have a direct impact on what happens in Bulgaria. For us, as Bulgarians, things such as a review of the Green Deal, which many people in Bulgaria have tried to tell us cannot happen, are important. But here we see that there is movement in that direction, that we are not the only ones talking about this thing. Control over migration - also a topic that was neglected in Bulgaria, here we see that it is set at a high level.

For us, an important topic is what reaches the adolescents in terms of ideology, in terms of the issues they are dealing with, the issues of propagating values other than the traditional ones. 

And I personally find it gratifying to see that the issues that we raised during the election campaign in Bulgaria are also reflected here: agricultural quotas, fishing quotas, transport, everything that is important to us. I see like-minded people with whom we can not only talk, but seek change.

You say the Green Deal and change: how exactly do you see this change? And do you think there is the will and the votes in this Parliament to make that change?

We have seen how Europe voted and people with what views European citizens decided to send this time to this European Parliament. These are the people who are looking for change and in this direction, the people with a more conservative mindset, the people standing in the centre or further to the right of it, are those who, thinking normally, see that the Green Deal is essentially an ideology that is not applicable to real life and that, in addition to leading to purely economic and social problems in some countries, is preventing Europe from developing. In fact, Europe is limiting itself by creating countless regulations that ultimately hit only itself and not those against whom they are aimed: Asian imports. Europe is depriving itself of its competitiveness.

Yes, there is the will to revise things like the Green Deal precisely in those components that really get in the way. And they prevent Europe from being an industrial continent that works and feeds itself.

Nationally, there is confrontation and opposition between different parties. But at the level of the European Parliament, will you cooperate with your Bulgarian colleagues? What are the common initiatives you can work on with them?

The question is very interesting. One of my personal causes and goals is to have a much better communication between the members of the Bulgarian delegation. I cannot answer this question yet for the purely technical reason that we have not yet seen each other together. Today, according to what the free time will be and according to the votes, we have a meeting scheduled for the Bulgarian group. At that meeting, I will raise these questions. It will be important for me, even if we have party differences, to be able to talk together about the things that are important first of all for our country. Let us try to clear them up among ourselves. Not to be so loyal to the politics of the groups that we are members of, but to come first from what the national interest dictates.

Which topics could be a priority?

I will look for understanding in the rest of my colleagues. I know that there are parties in the European Parliament that have already supported the Green Deal, voted for it. I still think that these are sensible people who have had the time to convince themselves that what they accepted then does not work and is not useful in the current economic, social or whatever plan. Mrs von der Leyen herself, who is one of the ideologues of this Green Deal, has started to show such signs. We shall now see whether they were just as part of her election campaign. She herself has given signs that she sees some aspects of the Green Deal as not working. We can then expect that those who supported her to take the position she is currently in will also support her view.

There are opposing groups in this Parliament. How do you think a balance, a compromise will be achieved? Especially on the important decisions. 

I understand that the current composition of the Parliament and what is happening in it may surprise the more relaxed Europeans who are used to a more precise distribution. For those of us who come from Bulgaria, from a Parliament that has been anything but homogeneous and calm for the last two or three years, this does not surprise us. We have the experience of working in such an environment. We have the experience of looking for the normal conversation. It was unpleasant for me to hear that, even in the European Parliament, when a different opinion is expressed from the rostrum, even here there can be heckling and booing. Something that had shocked me in the Bulgarian Parliament. I think that there we were able to show that it is not acceptable and we should get rid of it. In some aspects, I do not see much difference between the chamber of the Bulgarian National Assembly and the chamber of the European Parliament. I still think that we are a little better tempered and can do better in a more nervous and more scattered environment.

How does the situation in Bulgaria affect decisions here? Important decisions are coming in October - a Council, a Bulgarian Commissioner. 

As a TISP representative, I do not share the scepticism about what is happening in the Bulgarian National Assembly. I am not going to claim that a seventh election is coming, because we are still waiting to see what will happen with the second [government-forming] mandate. TISP has stated its desire to get the third mandate and work towards its realization. We have ideas. Speaking internally, I am glad that, finally, after a year and a half, everyone has come to our understanding that Bulgaria needs a government - call it expert, technical or whatever you like - that sets itself tasks that it will complete within a given time. To give people the feeling that things are finally working normally. To bring back common sense. After two or three years, God willing after a full term, people will go and make their next choice in a better frame of mind. Otherwise - yes, it is important to have a working government in Bulgaria. You are talking about the next Commissioner - what position will he take, what will be his portfolio? How can we know all this when such a Commissioner is being proposed by a regular government? We do not have a regular government at the moment.